


A Light That Never Went Out

by fembuck



Series: Lost and Found [1]
Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: Childhood Sweethearts, F/F, Femslash, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-31
Updated: 2011-11-06
Packaged: 2017-10-24 11:31:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/262985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fembuck/pseuds/fembuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face. <a id="cutid1" name="cutid1"></a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Part 1**

Word of the Seekers approach had reached the village of Ragora a day before his arrival and the townspeople had been busy making preparations. When Kahlan, Richard, Zedd and Cara entered the gates of the city, Richard, Kahlan and Zedd immediately found themselves surrounded by smiling townsfolk holding out garlands for them. Cara stood to the side of the other three, and intimidated by her red leather, the villagers left her alone as they draped flowered necklaces around her companions and heartily shook their hands.

Cara watched the proceeding with little interest. The behaviour of the villagers was nothing new to the group. Before the defeat of the Keeper, the Seeker, Mother Confessor and Wizard had often been greeted warmly in the villages they passed through, and after their victory at the Pillars of Creation, they had not passed through a town that did not celebrate their arrival. Flowers, gemstones, and carved figures had been presented to them as villagers kneeled at their feet. Feasts had been thrown in their honour followed by village wide dances that lasted into the early hours of the morning. They had not paid for food, room, clothes, weapons, or anything else since they left the Pillars victorious. And over all of those miles and through all of those villages, people had given Cara a wide berth. The hostility that she had often been greeted with before the defeat of the Keeper was no longer present, but people were still weary of her and the agiels she wore at her sides. When hugs and handshakes were being offered, no arms were ever extended in her direction and this suited Cara just fine.

It was therefore somewhat of a shock to Cara, when a lone figure separated herself from the smiling crowd around Kahlan, Richard and Zedd to tentatively make her way towards her.

The woman was young and pretty. Others might have characterized her as beautiful, but Cara did not use such words. Her hair, which was of a rich chestnut colour, hung long and loose around her shoulders, but it was not her looks that attracted Cara's attention so much as the fact that she boldly held Cara's eyes as she approached, studying Cara as much as Cara studied her. It was rare for a villager to so openly regard her, and even stranger for a woman to do so. Men sometimes allowed their greater size and muscle to delude themselves into thinking they were her equal, but her demeanour and her leather had always caused women outside of brothels to lower their eyes and defer to her without question.

This woman however was clearly not a whore yet she did not seem afraid, and as she neared Cara, the Mord'Sith found her lips curving up into an amused smirk.

Kahlan was the first of Cara's three companions to notice the woman approaching Cara, and with a smile she nudged Richard and tilted her head in the woman's direction. Richard followed her gaze and soon saw what had caught Kahlan's attention, and after looking at the garland in the woman's hand, he turned back to Kahlan and smiled.

Cara noticed the Mother Confessor and Seeker's exchange, but decided that it was best to ignore them and their teasing expressions and was about to turn away from them entirely when she caught Zedd's expression. The wizard was watching the woman's approach as well, but unlike Richard and Kahlan he did not seem amused. His expression was one of surprise and slight alarm, and Cara found that it irritated her. It often amused her to intimidate villagers, but she had long since stopped actually hurting them so there was no cause for the wizard to look worried. However, before she could work herself up into a full snit over Zedd's expression, the woman came to a stop in front of her.

"I have no need of flowers," Cara stated before the villager could say a word.

"No one _needs_ flowers," the woman responded holding her ground and Cara's eyes. "They're a token of gratitude."

"I have no need of gratitude," Cara replied without missing a beat.

The woman was silent for a moment in the face of Cara's response, a thoughtful expression coming to her face before she said, "Very well," and tossed the garland to the ground, her eyes never leaving Cara's the entire time.

Cara's eyes tracked down to look at the garland where it lay in the dirt, and when she looked back over at the woman she regarded her with a look of genuine amusement. There was a defiant streak in this woman that she respected.

"Is there something else you wanted?" Cara asked when the woman continued to look at her as the wind rustled the petals of the garland where it lay at their feet.

The woman nodded but did not elaborate and after a moment of waiting Cara lifted a pale eyebrow and waved a gloved hand in front of her trying to get the woman to get on with it.

"I have need of ale, not awkward conversation. If you have something to say, say it or be gone."

"The travelers that have passed through here said that the Seeker traveled with a Mord'Sith named Cara. Are you Cara?" the woman asked, still studying Cara's face intently.

"There's the Seeker, I'm the only Mord'Sith around, so I must be Cara," Cara responded, a touch of the exasperation she was feeling showing in her voice.

"Cara Mason?" The woman asked ignoring Cara's less than pleased tone.

Cara's eyes narrowed at the use of her last name. She had not heard it spoken since she was a child and it surprised her. She looked at the woman before her with renewed interest, studying her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her bearing, and she thought that there was something familiar about her.

"Who are you?" Cara demanded, straightening her back as she lifted her right hand to rest on the hilt of the agiel she had strapped there.

The woman's eyes dropped down to her hand, observing the red leather on the red hilt of the agiel for a moment before she lifted her eyes to meet Cara's once more.

"Dahlia Lawson," she breathed out.

Cara drew her head back slightly and tightened her grip on her agiel as the woman's name fell upon her ears. Though the sun had gone down nearly a candle mark before, Cara suddenly felt as if light was shining down on her, warming her skin as memories of running laughing through golden fields side by side with another girl filled her mind.

Her eyes scanned the woman before her again, and with the image of that young girl still in her mind, Cara could see the familiarity between the girl from her memories and the woman before her. The full lips, the bright, curious, brown eyes, the strong, straight nose, the features were the same; they had simply strengthened with age.

She remembered lying under sheets in her childhood bedroom, staring at that face for minutes upon minutes before one of them finally laughed and they fell into each other, clinging to each other as their laughter filled the silent of the room. She remembered seeing that face floating in the darkness of the damp cell Mistress Nathair had locked her in after the Mord'Sith had taken her, and the misery she had felt when she reached out to touch Dahlia's face, longing for the comfort of her touch, only to find that it had been nothing but a figment of her imagination.

"Da," Cara exhaled before she could think better of it, the old nickname falling easily from her lips.

"Ca," Dahlia returned, the curious, hesitant expression on her face transforming into a wide smile upon getting confirmation of Cara's identity.

The sudden expression of happiness being directed at her threw Cara momentarily, and before she could pull herself together, she found herself under attack as Dahlia closed the small distance between them and threw her arms around Cara's neck, hugging her with a strength that would have impressed Cara if she hadn't been stunned into immobility. Kahlan's physical assaults on her had conditioned Cara to respond to such embraces, and automatically she lifted her hands until they were pressed lightly against Dahlia's back. The response seemed to encourage Dahlia and the woman tightened her hold on Cara as Cara looked beyond her to Kahlan with wide, panicked eyes.

Kahlan's lips twitched as she met Cara's eyes, but she fought down the urge to smile. She had no idea what possessed the village woman to embrace a Mord'Sith, but Cara had shown a remarkable amount of control by not immediately shoving the woman away and agieling her, and Kahlan knew that she had better intervene before Cara's momentary benevolence left her.

"Cara," Kahlan said gently, approaching the women from the side.

"Kahlan," Cara said gratefully, using the Mother Confessor's arrival as an excuse to begin to pull away from the embrace she had been pulled into.

Dahlia was reluctant to let Cara go, but the Mother Confessor's presence brought some awareness of her surrounding back to her and a quick glance around confirmed that her actions had drawn the attention of more than just the Mother Confessor. So, it was with a self-conscious lowering of her head that she stepped back from Cara and turned to face Kahlan, respectfully murmuring, "Mother Confessor," as she gazed at Kahlan's feet.

With a gentle smile, Kahlan took Dahlia's hand into her own and squeezed it before cutting her eyes questioningly at Cara, who stiffly said, "Dahlia," in response to Kahlan's silent question.

Cara's posture was rigid and her speech more clipped than usual, but as she said Dahlia's name Cara's eyes turned to fall upon her, and the look in them was one of trepidation instead of exasperation or irritation, which was what Kahlan had expected to see. Cara's behaviour towards this Dahlia intrigued her, but Kahlan knew it was not the time or place for inquiries and pushed down her curiosity.

"Pleased to meet you, Dahlia," Kahlan said in a friendly tone, squeezing the woman's hand one last time before releasing it.

"The honour is mine," Dahlia returned.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Kahlan said smiling. "You've managed something tonight that few have even dreamed of accomplishing. You've startled a Mord'Sith into silence," Kahlan continued angling her head to the side so that she could see Cara.

Cara's back straightened even more at the sound of Kahlan's words and when her face transformed into a mask of indifference a smile touched Kahlan's lips. Dahlia looked uncertain about the Mother Confessor's teasing, but as her gaze followed Kahlan's to Cara and she took in the blonde's pose and expression she could not stop a fond smile from touching her lips as well. The red leather and stunning beauty were new, but Cara had often worn a similar affected expression when they were children and a strong swell of affection for Cara arose in Dahlia's heart.

"She looks like she has something to say now," Dahlia observed, keeping her eyes trained on Cara, her lips curving up the slightest bit more as Cara's expression became increasingly indignant with every word she spoke.

Kahlan's eyebrows lifted with surprise and admiration. There were not many people who would risk joking with a Mord'Sith and again she wondered what strange connection there was between the two women that Cara tolerated Dahlia's forwardness.

"Whatever it is, it's likely to be riddled with profanity," Kahlan murmured shaking her head mournfully as looked at Cara.

Cara glared at the two of them, steadily riling herself up, but before she unleashed the string of profanity Kahlan had predicted in their direction, Zedd's staring registered with her again and her ire became refocused.

Cara's head whipped around in the wizard's direction and she pinned him in place with her eyes.

"Why don't you carve a statue Wizard!" she hurdled at him angrily. "It'll last longer."

Zedd's bushy white eyebrows rose up in surprise, but before he could respond Kahlan began to giggle and Cara turned to face the Mother Confessor once more. Cara turned to look at Kahlan and took a measured step towards the confessor before leaning in to whisper to her.

"I will not tolerate this," Cara stated holding Kahlan's eyes.

Cara's posture was rigid and her eyes deadly serious. Kahlan dipped her chin acknowledging Cara's statement and then took a deep breath in and out in attempt to regain her composure. She knew that it was one thing to tease Cara in private, but another thing entirely to do so in a town square filled with people. Around the campfire, Cara had learned to take her teasing with something that approximated grace, but in this setting the Mord'Sith would feel the need to assert her authority if Kahlan continued, and that was the last thing Kahlan wanted.

"I apologize Cara. That was very undignified of me," Kahlan offered, relaxing a little bit when Cara looked to be adequately mollified by her apology. "If your friend would be so kind as to show us to local tavern I'll buy you a drink."

Cara's eyes shot towards Dahlia when Kahlan said the word 'friend' and her lips parted as if to utter protest, but she looked away from the woman again a moment later without disputing Kahlan's choice of words.

"You'll buy nothing. They'll give us the damn ale," Cara muttered glaring into the crowd that surrounded them. "Or I'll take it," she continued allowing a menacing smile to touch her lips as her hand strayed towards her agiel again.

Some of the people standing around the three of them shared uneasy looks with each other, and a tension entered the square that had not been present a few minutes before. Dahlia realized that her fellow villagers thought that Cara might have been serious about forcibly taking what they would willingly offer. Logically she knew that she was the strange one for not being uncomfortable at the prospect of an unhappy Mord'Sith terrorizing the town, but she knew that Cara was joking. The way she was standing, the tone of her voice, it was the same as when they were younger. It reminded her of the time Cara had pushed an older boy named Jarek down because he had been bothering her. Jarek had gotten up slowly, staring at Cara with anger, but as he towered over them threateningly, Cara had met his eyes and said, "Go ahead then if you want. But I you should know that unlike the boys, I'll aim for your junk." If Jarek had taken so much as a step towards them, Cara would have grabbed her hand and they would have run shrieking through the main street to attract the attention of as many grown-ups as possible, but Jarek didn't know that and based on Cara's bravado alone he had angrily stomped off home after muttering a few warning words at them.

The Creator knew that now as a Mord'Sith there was nothing that Cara would run away from, but as Dahlia observed the unperturbed looks on the faces of the Mother Confessor, the Seeker and the wizard, she was certain that she was right about Cara not actually being a threat. It was bravado again. It was a way to show the people around them that Cara was someone to be feared despite the Mother Confessor's playful attitude.

"The celebration is in your honour," Dahlia said breaking the uncomfortable silence that fell after Cara had spoken. "All of your honours," she continued, looking at Kahlan, Richard and Zedd in turn. "We would gladly pour you all the ale in the village," she finished looking at Cara once again. "Your agiel," Dahlia continued, glancing down at the weapon Cara still had her hand on the hilt of, "your swords, your daggers and wizards fire have all worked to protect us. Please, now allow us to work for your care and comfort."

Cara met Dahlia's gaze and felt her ire deserting her despite herself. Dahlia's tone was respectful and diffident, but her eyes were warm and playful. It reminded Cara of how Kahlan sometimes looked at her and she realized that Dahlia was placating her. She was putting on a show for the other villagers, but she herself was not scared, just as Kahlan was never truly intimidated by her moods anymore. She thought that Dahlia's presumptuousness should have angered her, but Dahlia's eyes were the same as they had been when they were children, and when Cara looked at her she remembered the way she had felt as she ran and played and snuggled with Dahlia as a child. Despite herself, she remembered her girlhood affection for Dahlia and what little that was left inside of her of the girl Cara had been before the Mord'Sith made it difficult for Cara to truly be upset with her.

"You will pour mine personally," Cara declared.

Dahlia lips twitched in response to her words but the woman did not actually smile. Dahlia had understood that she was teasing and Cara felt her stomach tinge with some more or less pleasant emotion in response.

"I'm not a barmaid," Dahlia responded, meeting Cara's eyes through the screen of her eyelashes, her posture demure though her gaze and words were bold.

"You are tonight," Cara replied.

"You're very bossy," Dahlia returned with affection despite the words she had spoken.

Cara was silent for a moment, and then she arched a golden eyebrow and rudely inquired, "Why are you still talking when you should be pouring me ale?"

"Impatient too, I see. Bossy and impatient … you have not changed," Dahlia decided, a hint of a smile playing across her lips.

Cara had always liked to have her way when they were small too.

"I'm considerably taller now," Cara responded smugly.

"She's taller still," Dahlia said nodding her head in Kahlan's direction.

Cara frowned at that and Kahlan had to bite her lip to stop from smiling. It galled Cara – and therefore amused her – to no end that she was the shortest.

"An inch or two is meaningless in combat. Besides, I'm as strong as her and have more endurance," Cara stated her voice defensive and then prideful as she met Kahlan's eyes challengingly before straightening her back and turning her gaze back to Dahlia. "I also drink ale now. Or I would if you'd fetch it," she continued staring at Dahlia pointedly. "Fetch it," she added flicking her hand towards the part of town where buildings clustered together.

"You're also ruder now, but despite that I'll still pour your ale," Dahlia responded. "You'll have to walk to the tavern yourself, though. We don't have a tavern wagon in this town. Drunks and aspiring drunks must provide their own transportation," she declared with a sweet smile. "Heroes follow me," she continued a second later, turning to look at Kahlan, Richard and Zedd. "Cara you can come too," she added smirking before she turned and began to walk towards the nearest building.

Cara was still for a moment after Dahlia turned and began to walk away, but after watching the woman thoughtfully for a few seconds Cara's lips curved up in a smile and she started after Dahlia's retreating form.

Once Cara started moving Kahlan fell in step behind her, followed by Richard, Zedd and a crowd of confused, but relieved, villagers.

"That was strange, right?" Richard whispered as they trailed behind Cara and Dahlia. "She talked to Cara like …" Richard struggled to find the right way to phrase his thoughts.

"A person," Kahlan offered.

"Yes! Like a person," Richard agreed. "Like a _regular_ person. That's strange, isn't it? Most people treat Cara like …"

"A Mord'Sith," Kahlan finished for him.

"Like a Mord'Sith," Richard repeated, "Exactly. But that woman didn't seem the least bit scared of her. Do you think it might be magic?" Richard asked, only half joking as he turned to look at Zedd.

"Magic doesn't work on Mord'Sith," Zedd responded, looking ahead at the backs of the two women in front of them. "Perhaps young Dahlia is simply able to see beyond Cara's Mord'Sith leather to the woman beneath," Zedd offered thoughtfully. "You know as well as I do that Cara is 'a person'. She's an irascible, cranky, aggressive, belittling, smug, wizard-kicking person, but a person nonetheless. It is not so impossible I think, for someone else to see this as well."

He had not been as asleep as Cara and Dahlia had thought that night by the camp fire before the spell of undoing had been cast, and he had observed some of the women's interactions before they moved into the trees for their intimacies, which he had _not_ be privy too.

Cara had been softer and gentler than he had ever seen her when she was alone with Dahlia. The layer of emotional armour that she wore, even with Kahlan, had been stripped from her and she had spoken to Dahlia with such care and vulnerability that Zedd had almost not recognized her.

That night, in the dying light of the campfire, there could be no doubt that Cara was very much a person, despite how hard the Mord'Sith had tried to strip her of her humanity.

At the time he had thought the change he observed in Cara was as a result of being with a fellow Sister of the Agiel. He found it hard to believe that all Mord'Sith were so open with each other, but it was the best theory he had been able to come up with at the time. However, knowing what he now did about them growing up together, he thought it was more likely that it was the emotions and experiences of their childhood that had bonded them together so tightly. No doubt, in the timeline before the spell of undoing, surviving Mord'Sith training together and somewhere along the line become lovers had strengthened their bond, but it seemed that the root of their connection lay in childhood. The dynamics of their relationship had been forged during a time untouched by the spell of undoing and thus, it seemed, it had been able to survive across universes.

Undoing Dahlia had been the only way to right things enough to get them to the Pillars of Creation in time to defeat the Keeper, but Zedd had felt badly that it had been necessary to undo the one loving adult relationship in Cara's life in order to save the world. However, as he watched the two of them walking – Dahlia obviously looking over to study Cara while Cara occasionally stole a surreptitious look at Dahlia – Zedd thought that he might not have stolen the chance for love from them, but simply delayed it.

"Yes, but …" Richard began, not quite able to accept what Zedd was saying without knowledge of the world that had been before the spell of undoing.

"All things in time, my boy, all things in time," Zedd said, cutting Richard off as he clasped his hand on Richard's shoulder.

He took a moment to squeeze Richard's shoulder affectionately, and then with a respectful nod in Kahlan's direction he used his long legs to stride ahead of the Seeker and Mother Confessor. The story of Cara and Dahlia was not his to tell, but if Richard and Kahlan had continued to pester him he may not have been able to control himself. Kahlan had once called him a 'gossip', and it was true. He was a Gossip of the First Class, but despite the brabbles he got into with Cara he liked and respected the Mord'Sith and would try allow her to reveal what she chose to, when she chose to.

Richard turned to Kahlan once Zedd was past them and out of earshot. His lips parted to speak, but before he could say a word, Kahlan spoke.

"That was strange too," Kahlan confirmed knowing what Richard was going to ask.

"Really strange," Richard murmured looking over at her.

"Super strange," Kahlan said smiling playfully.

"Super duper strange," Richard replied smiling back at her.

"Fantastically wonderfully sensationally strange," Kahlan said smiling more widely as Richard wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her closer.

Richard laughed as Kahlan finished her description and then leaned in to kiss Kahlan's temple, allowing her to burrow her face into his neck as she too began to giggle.  
 

To be continued...  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 2**   


When Richard and Kahlan entered the tavern, Cara and Zedd were already seated at a table in the back corner of the room, and Dahlia stood by the side of the table with her arm outstretched to accept the cask of ale one of the tavern's actual barmaids was holding out for her. Many of the eyes in the tavern were on the table in the back corner, but the room remained noisy and the atmosphere comfortable. Despite Cara's intimidating demeanour, Dahlia's ease with Cara seemed to assure those around them leaving the atmosphere in the tavern relaxed, despite Cara's earlier performance.

By the time Richard and Kahlan joined their companions at the table, Cara's mug was full, and Zedd had just finished giving his dinner order to the barmaid.

"You pour well," Cara drawled when Dahlia turned to fill the two empty mugs on the table so that Richard and Kahlan would have drink too.

"Thank you," Dahlia said without looking up. "It's always been a dream of mine," she deadpanned as she placed the cask down on the table top having finished with Richard and Kahlan's mugs.

"I thought you wanted to be a Princess," Cara stated, her face transforming into a mask of disdain at the thought of anyone coveting such a thing, even a small girl.

"I've discovered that valiant, damsel-rescuing Prince's are hard to come by these days," Dahlia replied almost wistfully. "Though, in a cruel twist of fate, _you_ seem to have found one," she continued, turning to look at Richard who smiled handsomely at the compliment. "Cara was always more interested in rescuing princesses than being one," Dahlia confided, looking between Kahlan, Richard and Zedd.

"The fun is in the fighting, not in the pretty dresses," Cara murmured, eyeing Dahlia suspiciously as she moved to take a seat beside her, but not actually saying a word to stop her.

"Oh, I don't know, Cara," Richard said smiling. "You managed to fight well and have your fun in a very pretty, very pink dress at the Magrave's castle."

Kahlan smirked at that and murmured, "It really was a lovely dress … before the fire." She sighed softly at the memory and then turned to Dahlia and added, "Cara killed a shadrin in it."

Dahlia's eyebrows lifted in surprise and admiration.

"Killed a shadrin? In a dress? That must have been very impressive," Dahlia breathed out.

"Everything I do is," Cara offered, smiling smugly when Dahlia turned to look at her.

"Bossy, impatient, rude and vain. Is there no end to the list of qualities that recommend you to others?"

"You forgot my astounding beauty," Cara sniffed before reaching for her mug to nonchalantly take a sip.

Dahlia stared at her for a moment and then she smiled sweetly and said, "No, I didn't," causing Cara's self-congratulatory expression to falter momentarily.

Cara's eyes narrowed as she stared at Dahlia, but before she could make a no doubt charming reply, Kahlan spoke.

"You said that 'Cara was always more interested in rescuing princess'," the Mother Confessor began, focusing her attention on Dahlia. "Did you know Cara when she was younger?"

"We grew up together," Dahlia said smiling fondly. "I was born in Stowcroft and lived there for most of my life. Cara was my best friend," she went on, directing her bright smile at Cara who sighed deeply and looked away.

"She followed me around," Cara muttered under her breath. "I threw rocks at her but she never went away. I resigned myself to her presence eventually."

Kahlan looked over at Cara, vaguely horrified by how rude she was being, but the smile never left Dahlia's face.

"Cara used to pick me flowers," Dahlia continued unperturbed by Cara's interruption. "She said she was going to marry me when we got bigger," she went on, causing Kahlan to smile widely and look over at Cara like she was the most precious thing in the world. "She would crawl through my window at night and sleep in my bed because she couldn't wait until morning to see me."

As Dahlia spoke, Cara had slouched more and more against the back of the booth, but at the mention of her having snuck into Dahlia's bed as a child she perked up and focused her olive gaze on the woman beside her once again.

"Perhaps I should climb through your window tonight," Cara drawled, running her eyes over Dahlia appraisingly.

"That's surprising. I've been getting the impression that you'd like to see less of me, not more," Dahlia commented, sounding uncertain for the first time since Kahlan had first walked up to her and Cara in the town square.

"I'd like to _hear_ less of you, but I could stand to _see_ quite a bit more," Cara replied focusing her eyes on Dahlia's chest.

Cara's look and tone were unmistakable though Dahlia had never had a woman speak to her so brazenly in public before, and Dahlia blushed under her scrutiny. This seemed to please Cara, and the blonde lazily reached towards Dahlia as if to touch her breast, but before she could make contact Dahlia batted her hand away and released a sound of great offence.

Cara smirked and then reached for Dahlia again only to have Dahlia bat her hand away once more, the cycle continuing until Kahlan intervened on Dahlia's behalf.

"Cara, really," she sighed as if she was talking to an incorrigible five year old.

"Kahlan, really," Cara huffed back, "there's a hair on her dress. I was only trying to be helpful."

"Hair nothing," Dahlia piped up. "You were trying to be fresh," she continued, blushing again as she remembered just exactly what Cara had been implying before she started trying to touch her.

"I believe I was succeeding at it," Cara murmured in response, and despite herself Dahlia smiled. "You never could stay mad at me for very long," Cara said a second later, a look of consternation coming across her features shortly after, as if she hadn't intended to voice the thought.

"No," Dahlia agreed softly, wistfully, "I never could. I suppose we've found another thing that hasn't changed."

"My boundless charm?" Cara supplied wryly.

"Your adorable stupidity and my susceptibility to it," Dahlia replied grinning.

Cara huffed in response to that, but showed no real anger or irritation with Dahlia for the comment.

"If I'd known how ungrateful you'd grow up to be, I would have let those ducks peck you to death," Cara told Dahlia seriously, staring straight into her eyes.

"Then my mother wouldn't have baked you a pie. It was the tales I told of your valiance that day by the pond that you got you such a sweet reward."

"Sweet reward my ass," Cara scoffed. "That pie nearly killed me."

"Only because you ate the whole thing in about thirty seconds," Dahlia responded, her eyes twinkling as she laughed softly. "It was like you hadn't eaten in days," she went on gazing at Cara warmly. "When she finished eating it, she smiled at me, and then spent the next hour lying in the grass, rolling from side to side, moaning about how her stomach hurt," Dahlia continued, directing her comment to the other three around the table.

Cara's brows drew together in a scowl, but she did not dispute anything that Dahlia had just said.

"Don't feel bad, Cara," Kahlan said, pausing to chew on her bottom lip in order to control the desire to laugh. "The same thing happened to Zedd last week with that wild turkey. At least it happened to you when you were still only small."

"A man should not have to defend having a healthy appetite," Zedd declared, smiling and opening his arms a moment later as he spotted the barmaid approaching with the very large supper he had ordered.

The arrival of the 'healthy' meal drew laughter from around the table, and even brought a slight smile to Cara's lips. The others leaned back and enjoyed their drink as Zedd was served, then once the barmaid had relieved herself of the heavy burden of Zedd's dinner plates she turned to the rest of the table and took orders from them before she retreated.

The rest of the evening was spent conversing and enjoying good food and drink. Dahlia shared more childhood stories with them, and when Cara's squirming at being the center of so much discussion could not be ignored any longer, Kahlan, Richard and Zedd told Dahlia the story of their quest for the stone of tears and their eventual defeat of the Keeper at the Pillars of Creation.

Dahlia listened to the tale with rapt attention, and as the ale continued to flow she reached over and took Cara's hand into own during a particularly harrowing part of the tale. A look of misery came over Cara's face as her hand was squeezed. Cara tugged her hand away from Dahlia a few seconds later, but as the tale continued and mentions of Cara's life being in peril were made, Dahlia kept on reaching out for Cara's hand and eventually Cara resigned herself to having her hand held, just as she had learned to accept Kahlan's ridiculous need to touch her at times.

By the time the last cask on their table was drained, the tavern had mostly cleared out and while laughter still came easily at the table, coherent conversation was becoming difficult. Zedd was slumped over the table top, already half-asleep, and Kahlan was leaning more and more heavily upon Richard as she felt herself starting to drift off as well.

As Richard shook his grandfather awake, Kahlan rose to her feet stretching and Dahlia followed her example.

"Goodnight," Dahlia said with a sleepy, drunken cheerfulness as Richard and Zedd rose to their feet as well. "It was lovely to meet you all," she continued reaching out to shake each other their hands in turn.

Cara remained seated through all of the hand shaking, and when Dahlia turned and observed the blonde's indifferent demeanour her face fell slightly.

"Cara," Kahlan said, seeing Dahlia's expression and feeling badly for the woman having been on the receiving end of Cara's seeming apathy before. "Aren't you going to say goodnight?"

Cara roused herself enough to look over at Kahlan.

"No," Cara stated, pausing just long enough for an annoyed expression to cross Kahlan's features before she added, "The night's not over yet. I'm walking her home."

There were a few unwashed, shifty looking men still milling around that she didn't like the looks of. It was late, the streets would be mostly deserted, and Dahlia was in no condition to be paying attention to her surroundings, or to defend herself should she notice something amiss.

"You're too intoxicated to be trusted on your own," Cara informed Dahlia gruffly as she pushed herself to her feet, not liking the sweet dopey smile Kahlan gifted her with when she announced her intentions.

"I'm fine," Dahlia replied with a touch of belligerence in her voice, taking offence to the idea that she could not find her way safely home on her own.

In response to her statement, Cara simply reached out and poked her lightly in the arm with the tip of her finger.

The slight nudge nearly tipped Dahlia over.

"I'll walk you home," Cara repeated when Dahlia was relatively steady on her feet once more.

Struggling to maintain her equilibrium took the fight out of Dahlia and she nodded her acquiescence. Cara looked pleased with her obedience, and in an uncharacteristic show of chivalry she took Dahlia's arm before beginning to lead the woman towards the door.

"Aw," Richard drawled as Kahlan looped her arm through his. "Look at our Cara, valiantly escorting a lady home. They grow up so fast," he joked as Cara and Dahlia exited the tavern.

The comment drew a smile and a chuckle from Kahlan before she added, "Next thing you know she'll be staying out all night and trying to borrow the family wagon."

Richard laughed at that, and then pressed his cheek to Kahlan's hair when she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You don't think we have to worry about Dahlia, do you?" he asked in a more serious tone a moment later.

Kahlan was silent for a moment, and then shook her head slightly.

"I don't think so. For some time Cara might have been the bandit that stole princesses away, but she's back to protecting and rescuing them these days. Dahlia will be safer than she's ever been before with Cara."

"I was talking about her virtue," Richard replied smirking.

"Oh," Kahlan breathed out, laughing as they started towards the stairs. "Well, that might be in jeopardy."

Richard made a soft sound of agreement in his throat, and then murmured, "They really do grow up so fast."  
 

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 3**   


The fresh air and exercise helped sober Dahlia some, and by the time they entered her cottage she was steady on her feet once more and had stopped occasionally slurring her words. Still, once Cara got her settled at the kitchen table she poured a glass of water for Dahlia from a jug and then sat down beside her to make sure she drank it all before heading to bed.

"I don't think my body can contain anymore liquid," Dahlia moaned when Cara placed the glass in front of her.

"You'll make it," Cara said levelling Dahlia with a gaze that said the matter was **not** up for debate.

"You're mean," Dahlia accused, but she lifted the glass to her lips nonetheless.

"Of course I am. I'm Mord'Sith. And you'll thank me in the morning," Cara responded.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while as Dahlia slowly forced the water down while Cara glanced at the furnishing around her. When Dahlia's glass was empty, Cara poured her another and then leaned back, staring at Dahlia pointedly until she drank that glass too.

"Truly, I'm at my limit. I don't care how much you glare at me, I can't drink another," Dahlia declared meeting Cara's eyes boldly.

"Very well," Cara said in response. "You should be fine now anyway," she continued, moving to rise only to be stopped by Dahlia placing her hand over the one Cara had braced against the table top.

"Thank you," Dahlia said softly when Cara looked down at her.

"There's no reason to thank me. I needed to stretch my legs, so there was no reason to make you stagger home alone," Cara replied, lowering herself back into the seat she had been occupying for the past while.

"You don't need to be so … crotchety," Dahlia breathed out. "It's just me now, and I know that you were being kind walking me home. Your scowls don't fool me, Ca."

Cara sighed. "You sound like Kahlan, always trying to find feelings where there are none."

"The Mother Confessor sees truth. Her ability to see things others cannot is why she's the Mother Confessor. Perhaps we're both simply commenting on feelings that _you_ can't see yet."

Cara sighed again and rolled her eyes.

"I see you've recovered enough to begin harassing me again," Cara said huffily, rising to her feet. "I'll be going now."

"I didn't sleep for a week after you went missing. I cried so hard at night that it kept me awake. I didn't eat, I barely spoke. I missed you more than I have words to express," Dahlia began, her words halting Cara's progress halfway to the door of her cottage. "Eventually, I started eating again, I started sleeping again, and all those around me began to wish I would talk less again. But I never forgot you. I never stopped worrying about you. I never stopped hoping that I would see you again. And now, here you are," Dahlia finished, her voice a mere whisper as she came to stop in front of Cara.

Cara did not verbally respond to her, but her eyes held Dahlia's so intently that when Dahlia reached out to touch her face Cara instinctively jerked back, having not registered the movement of Dahlia's arm.

"Please," Dahlia whispered, "I …" she paused struggling to find words to explain how she needed to touch Cara's face, how she needed to feel her skin in order to convince herself that this was real and not some feverish dream. "Please," she repeated.

Cara nodded stiffly, and Dahlia's fingers continued towards her face until she was able to run her fingers over Cara's shockingly smooth skin.

"I didn't mean it earlier," Dahlia breathed out as she trailed her finger down Cara's nose. "You really are astoundingly beautiful. You just looked so smug that I couldn't encourage you."

Cara's lips twitched up slightly in an almost smile.

"You're not worried about inflating my ego now?"

"No," Dahlia whispered, smiling softly as she traced the curve of Cara's jaw. "After all I heard you say tonight, I don't think it's possible to make your ego any bigger."

Cara's eyes narrowed at that and Dahlia laughed softly.

"You always had a silver tongue," Cara murmured. "You used to trick me with your words all the time back then."

"You always made it so easy," Dahlia responded softly, running her thumb across Cara's cheek one last time before reluctantly pulling her hand back. "But a smile from you was all it took to disarm me. You had the sweetest smile I've ever seen."

Cara regarded Dahlia seriously for a moment, and then in a flash she smiled, the expression becoming wider and wider when Dahlia's eyes lit up until Cara was honestly giving Dahlia the brightest smile she was capable of.

"Yes," Dahlia breathed out, grinning even as her eyes welled with tears, "that's the one."

Her hands twitched where they rested at her side as she fought the urge to hug Cara, having observed throughout the night that the blonde appreciated her personal space being respected.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," Dahlia said, wringing her hands together in attempt to keep them away from Cara. "I'm so happy that you've found such good people," she whispered. "And I'm …" Dahlia's voice was shaking and she took a moment to try and steady it. "I'm so very happy that I've gotten to see you again."

"I …" Cara began uncertainly, looking away from Dahlia's eyes as she struggled to find a way to actually express what she was feeling. "I am glad as well," Cara stated awkwardly, unused to speaking of her emotions. "I thought of you after I was taken. I'm pleased you are well," she continued, her words stiff but from the heart.

Cara looked down and stared at the floorboards for a moment then she took a deep breath and forced herself to look over at Dahlia again.

"You grew up more beautiful than I could have imagined," Cara breathed out, speaking without thinking when Dahlia's warm brown eyes met hers.

Dahlia's cheeks coloured again as they had in the tavern and those eyes that enthralled Cara dipped down and to the left, hiding themselves from Cara's gaze.

"I wasn't being fresh," Cara said primly in response to Dahlia's blush.

"I know," Dahlia said softly a moment later, raising her eyes again to look at Cara. Her skin was still flushed, but she did not seem upset and Cara's rigid posture relaxed slightly. "I," Dahlia smiled a little shyly and averted her eyes again before murmuring, "I wasn't really upset earlier. You just surprised me. You always did like to tease me. I shouldn't have reacted. It always encouraged you when I reacted."

"You blush very prettily," Cara replied softly, watching Dahlia's face keenly. "But I wasn't teasing you earlier, Da."

The use of her childhood nickname made Dahlia look back over at Cara and when she did Cara smiled.

"If we had grown big together I might just have tried to marry you," she continued, reaching out to cup Dahlia's face in her hand. "I would kiss you now, if you'd allow it," Cara said holding Dahlia's eyes with her own, her tone gentle but utterly serious.

"Kiss me where?" Dahlia whispered as her heart picked up speed beneath her breast.

"On your lips," Cara replied steadily. "With my tongue," she added so that Dahlia could not play coy with her next response.

Dahlia breathed in sharply upon hearing Cara's words and her eyes unconsciously flickered down to look at Cara's tantalizingly full lips.

"That is not done," Dahlia sighed tremulously even as her eyes remained glued to Cara's.

"It is not often spoken of, but it _is_ done … repeatedly … by a wide variety of women," Cara responded. "In fact, many only need the slightest bit of encouragement to indulge."

"You know this for a fact?" Dahlia asked, finally managing to tear her eyes away from Cara's lips so that she could see the blonde's whole face again.

"I do," Cara confirmed, not quite able to keep her self-satisfaction from showing on her face.

"And how many women have you 'encouraged'?" Dahlia asked, her eyes losing the dazed glaze that had been in them for the past few minutes to become focused and critical.

"A fair number," Cara replied honestly. "Mord'Sith must often keep each other company," she continued still looking at Dahlia though she could see that the other woman did not like her words. "And village Inns are often cold. Barmaids are an excellent source of warmth at night."

"Is that what you want, to 'stay warm' with me tonight?" Dahlia asked taking a step back from Cara. "How am I coming along? Do you think I need much more encouragement?" she asked glaring balefully at Cara.

To Dahlia's surprise and irritation her questions provoked laughter from Cara instead of shaming her as she had hoped they would.

"I wouldn't turn you down, but I'm not trying to seduce you," Cara responded, charmed by Dahlia's spirit.

Dahlia had always been much stronger, much more passionate and much wilder than the adults around them thought, and it pleased Cara that she still had that fighting spirit beneath her soft exterior.

"No?" Dahlia asked lifting a chestnut eyebrow questioningly. "You said you wanted to kiss me."

"I do," Cara replied. "Even more so now," she continued, a slow, easy, sensual smile touching her lips when Dahlia's eyes narrowed at her.

"Do you still claim this is not seduction?"

"Yes," Cara said with a low, rough edge to her voice. "I've presented you with an option, nothing more. If you're tempted, I've done nothing to encourage it other than admit that I would accept your overtures." She paused and then smiled again. "Are you tempted Dahlia?"

"Against my better judgement … yes," Dahlia whispered, unable to stop herself from staring at Cara's lips again.

"I would yield," Cara breathed out, "but I don't want to be accused of deviously trying to seduce you again."

Cara did not smile when she spoke, but her green eyes sparkled playfully when Dahlia looked into them and the brunette shook her head before smiling ruefully.

"You're going to make _me_ kiss _you_ , aren't you?" she asked.

"Only if you want to," Cara responded.

Cara's voice was light, but her eyes were serious. She did want Dahlia, she knew that she could have seduced her easily, and if they had encountered each other a year before, Cara would have taken her without a second thought. But they had not encountered each other a year earlier, they had met now, and Cara was different. Traveling with Richard and Kahlan, helping people instead of hurting them, seeing gratitude instead of fear in people's eyes, it had all changed her – no matter how much she often tried to deny it. She wanted Dahlia, but she would not unduly coerce her.

"Is this how you got those other women?" Dahlia asked softly.

"No," Cara replied. "Them, I seduced," Cara breathed out though she knew there were other words that could have been used to describe her behaviour towards the women she had taken in the past.

"But not with me?" Dahlia asked curiously, softly, as her eyes scanned Cara's face.

"No, not with you," Cara responded quietly.

The memories of how she had been with some of those village women now shamed her, and she would not have it be so with Dahlia.

"Why?" Dahlia whispered

"Because you're Dahlia," Cara replied, blinking a few times before averting her gaze. "I would not do anything to hurt you," Cara continued still looking away. "I would not have you hate me … as so many rightfully do," she finished, her last five words coming out so softly they were barely audible.

Dahlia's fingers touched her cheek hesitantly and Cara turned to face her into it even though she wanted to remain looking away. She was not used to sharing her feelings and the discomfort it caused her was considerable.

Once she turned, Cara barely had time to register Dahlia's face before the other woman surged forward and pressed her lips against Cara's. Cara was not expecting the kiss, but she did not waste any time responding. She lifted her hands to hold Dahlia's face and returned Dahlia's kiss with a forceful passion that soon had both of them gasping for air.

Dahlia pulled away first, skin flushed as she gasped for air, her eyes wide as she gazed at Cara's face. Her lips parted and Cara thought that she was going to speak, but Dahlia simply surged forward again and captured her lips once more, kissing Cara with an urgency that made it seem as if her life depended on it.

Cara could not keep her hands still with Dahlia kissing her like that, and moaning into Dahlia's mouth she allowed her hands to begin roaming over the brunette's body. She trailed her hands down to Dahlia's chest and took her breasts in her hands, kneading the full mounds until Dahlia was arching her chest into her hands and sighing into her mouth. She ran her hands over the gentle curves of Dahlia's torso and over shapely hips before trailing her hands behind Dahlia to grasp the firm, rounded globes of her buttocks and began to knead those too until Dahlia was panting into her mouth.

"I …" Dahlia began shakily, her body trembling against Cara as she started to speak.

"Yes," Cara breathed out.

She knew exactly what Dahlia was feeling. She was feeling it too and wanted desperately to give Dahlia what she needed, but she forced herself to speak instead of scooping Dahlia up into her arms and carrying her to the bed in the next room.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow," Cara told her knowing that speaking those words might mean she'd never get to touch Dahlia's naked skin, but having to say them nonetheless.

Dahlia closed her eyes and nodded. She had heard stories of many of the town's the Seekers group had passed through on their way to the People's Palace and she knew that her town would simply be another stop along the way.

"More reason for you to stay with me tonight," Dahlia said softly, opening her eyes to meet Cara's. "Tomorrow I'll have no choice but to let you go, but tonight I would hold onto you. Sneak into my bed one more time," she said blushing at the brazenness of her words though she held Cara's eyes steadily as she spoke.

The words had never crossed Cara's lips before while pressed up against a willing, aroused woman, but she instinctively found herself asking, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Dahlia breathed out, reaching down to take Cara's hand into her own and then lifting it so that she could press a kiss to the back of Cara's hand. "If tonight is all there is, then so be it. Take me to bed."

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 4**   


Cara's hand shot up as she felt fingers brush across her cheeks. Her fingers wrapped around a slim wrist and her eyes opened, blinking into the bright morning light filtering in through the parted curtains of Dahlia's bedroom window.

Cara fought the urge to sigh.

She had immensely enjoyed being in Dahlia's bed the night before, but she had not meant to fall asleep there. Dahlia had little sexual experience with women beyond her own self-explorations and some teenage fumbling with other village girls, but she was a quick and eager learner, not to mention extremely responsive, and the sex had been very satisfying, though different to what Cara was used to.

Cara had been conscious of Dahlia's softness and vulnerability in a way that she had never been with any of her previous lovers, and she had made an effort not to bruise Dahlia, use her teeth roughly enough to break skin, or to give Dahlia more fingers than she was ready for. Taking such care was strange for Cara, but to her surprise – and pleasure – she discovered that coaxing pleasure from a lover instead of taking it from them also yielded delicious and satisfying results.

When they had finally finished with each other, Dahlia had barely been able to move and Cara had been looking forward to falling into her own bed and sleeping soundly until morning, but when Cara had moved to leave the bed, Dahlia had found enough energy to reach out and grasp her hand.

Dahlia had whispered, 'please' and tugged on Cara's hand, urging her back onto the mattress, and Cara had stiffly complied. When Dahlia snuggled up against her however, Cara managed to mutter that she could not stay. Dahlia had released a soft sigh at her words and then whispered, 'can you stay until I fall asleep?' Cara's first instinct had been to say 'no' and extract herself from Dahlia's embrace, but her resolve was not as firm as it usually was when put up against Dahlia, and with another sigh Cara found herself agreeing to Dahlia's request.

Dahlia pressed her lips to Cara's collarbone when Cara relaxed against the mattress, and Cara released an irritable sound from her throat which drew a soft laugh from Dahlia before she settled against Cara once again. Dahlia's eyes closed and Cara stared up at the ceiling, ready to leave the moment Dahlia's breathing evened out, however her body had betrayed her and during the wait for Dahlia to drift off she had fallen asleep.

"You shouldn't poke a sleeping Mord'Sith," Cara rasped, voice still rough with sleep as she blinked up at Dahlia, her eyes finally adjusting to the light, allowing her to see Dahlia's face clearly for the first time since she had awoken.

The sunlight bathed Dahlia in its glow as Cara gazed up at her, lighting up her chestnut hair so that it almost seemed to be made of honey, and Cara had to consciously fight a sudden urge to flip Dahlia over, pin her to the bed and have her way with her again.

"I wasn't poking you," Dahlia breathed out, her eyes roaming over Cara's features appreciatively as she smiled down at the blonde happily.

"Close enough," Cara murmured, loosening the hold she had on Dahlia's wrist before releasing her altogether. "If I had been in a deep sleep I could have hurt you," she continued more seriously, her evergreen gaze focusing intently on Dahlia. "I'm not safe, Da," she sighed a second later, allowing her eyes to drift away from Dahlia's as the brunette's nickname fell from her lips.

Dahlia breathed in audibly and a soft, sad look came over her face as she stared down at Cara. Her eyes scanned Cara's face thoughtfully for a few seconds and then she lowered her gaze until it was focused on Cara's exposed shoulder. Dahlia's hand shifted towards Cara's skin, and as she stared at her hand she tenderly drew her thumb along the line of an old scar.

"You don't want to know the answer to whatever question is racing through that big brain of yours," Cara said cutting off the question Dahlia had still not decided whether to voice or not.

"You're probably right," Dahlia sighed, her eyes blinking shut momentarily as she tried to rein in the tears she could feel beginning to gather in her eyes. "It's just … the thought of you hurting breaks my heart."

She had tortured herself at night after Cara had been taken, imaging the different ways the Mord'Sith who had taken her were making her suffer. The terrible thoughts running through her brain kept her up at night and nearly made her physically ill with worry, but what tortured her more than anything else was the knowledge that whatever she conjured up in her mind was likely a kindness compared to Cara's reality.

"If we hurt, we live," Cara stated firmly. "Pain is who I am."

Cara could not say that she intended her words to be comforting, but she did not intend for them to distress Dahlia either, so when Dahlia's features twisted into a look of misery, Cara reached out for her and stroked her cheek as tenderly as she was capable of.

"The past is past," Cara said slowly, uncertainly, trying to think of what Kahlan would say in a situation like this in order to find the right words to soothe Dahlia. "Wounds heal. Pain fades. I'm fine now. The sun is shining and I'm in bed with a beautiful naked woman. Life is not so bad."

"Are bare breasts and some sunshine really all it takes to make your day?" Dahlia asked, a small smile touching her lips, though her eyes still shimmered precariously.

"Yes," Cara breathed out. "At least when the bare breasts are as nice as yours," she added smiling rakishly.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Dahlia breathed out, her breath hitching slightly as Cara's hands teased up her sides, moving towards the breasts she had just praised to worship them like they deserved. "You're no good at it however, so it's a good thing you're cute."

"Careful, Da," Cara husked as she took Dahlia's full breasts into her hands. "If I can't trust you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth, I'll have to find another use for it."

"You do know that's only going to encourage me," Dahlia whispered in response, blushing at her own boldness but not being able to deny the way her body longed for Cara.

With Cara's help and a few practical demonstrations Dahlia had discovered quite a few ways to use her tongue the night before and all of them had been extremely pleasurable for her as well as Cara.

"I must confess, I did suspect," Cara responded cheekily. "Your _obstinance_ has its advantages."

Dahlia eyes widened with indignance and Cara grinned at her and then pushed up onto her elbows so that she could lean forward and capture Dahlia's lips before the brunette could make a response. She enjoyed teasing Dahlia, but she enjoyed kissing her and touching her even more and wanted to do that some more before she had to leave town.

"Your attempt to distract me has not gone unnoticed," Dahlia whispered against Cara's lips, a soft sigh escaping from her into Cara's mouth a second later when Cara flipped them over and pinned Dahlia to the mattress with her hips.

"It doesn't matter that it's noticed, only that it works," Cara breathed out, bumping her pelvis against Dahlia suggestively. "Is it working?" Cara asked softly before she dipped her head again to lick at Dahlia's lips.

"No," Dahlia whispered thickly, her voice rough with increasing desire. "I'm completely indifferent to you," Dahlia gasped softly, "you and what your hand is doing," she sighed as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Liar," Cara murmured against Dahlia as her lips attacked the flawless skin of her neck.

"Prove it," Dahlia exhaled softly.

Cara grinned against Dahlia's flesh.

That sounded like a challenge.

She liked challenges.

xxx

When they had finally had their fill of each other's bodies, Dahlia rose from the bed and padded naked into the kitchen under Cara's watchful eye to fix something with which they could break their fast. A few minutes after she had disappeared from sight, Dahlia returned to her bedroom carrying a cloth loaded with bread, cheese and nuts and carefully crawled back onto the mattress, settling herself against Cara once again.

Cara thought about protesting. Mord'Sith did not snuggle. It was not a formal rule but it was understood and she had already disgraced herself the night before first by acquiescing to Dahlia's desire for her to stay until she had fallen asleep, and secondly by then falling asleep herself while still ensconced in bed with Dahlia. She had no desire to further shame her leathers, but the sun warming her skin, the pleasant ache in her muscles, and the combined scent of her own and Dahlia's arousal still hanging in the air relaxed Cara and with a soft sigh and a roll of her eyes she accepted the other woman into her arms once more.

When the food was gone, it was Dahlia's turn to watch Cara as she pulled on her complicated leathers. Dahlia's own dress was simple and quick to adorn herself in and once she was done she took a seat on the edge of her bed and watched Cara with a soft smile. When Cara began to tighten her belt, Dahlia stood and moved to her, lightly brushing her hands away so that she could buckle the belt herself.

When Cara was fully dressed, she stepped back from Dahlia and observed her for a moment before awkwardly leaning forward to press her lips to Dahlia's cheek. Dahlia breathed in deeply at the gentle touch and closed her eyes against the tears that began to burn them. Cara pulled back, and Dahlia fully intended to let her go, but when Cara turned her back to her, Dahlia reached out and grasped her wrist, whispering "I'll walk with you," not yet quite able to let Cara walk out of her life again.

Once they left Dahlia's cottage, Cara headed straight for the stables. Given the position of the sun in the sky she anticipated that the others would have already broken their fast at the tavern and headed to the stables to prepare the horses for their departure. When Cara arrived to find the stable empty, save the young boy who worked there, the only sign of her surprise was a slight furrowing of her brows.

"Perhaps Richard and Kahlan were delayed leaving bed this morning as well," Dahlia murmured as Cara frowned into the empty stable.

"More likely Zedd decided to have a fifth course at breakfast," Cara muttered irritably though her lips quirked up slightly and her posture relaxed when Dahlia smiled at her and chuckled softly.

"It's not such a bad little town," Dahlia murmured when Cara's brows creased again as she surveyed the empty barn once more. "Spending another candle mark or two here, wouldn't be so bad would it?"

It wasn't a bad town, but it wasn't remarkable either and it certainly wasn't the People's Palace and any delay – whether it be one candle mark or one thousand – kept them from arriving at the place where they were most needed. All of these things were on the tip of Cara's tongue when she turned to face Dahlia, but when her eyes met the deep, rich brown of Dahlia's the practical but insensitive response died on her lips. The current delay was – as so many of the delays she had suffered through while traveling with Richard – unnecessary, however as Dahlia gazed back at her with naked affection, Cara supposed that her initial assessment of the town might have been unfair. The town itself was no different than dozens she had passed through over the past year that was true, but one thing this town had that the others didn't was Dahlia, and _she_ was worthy of note and appreciation.

"No," Cara said softly, "I suppose not," she breathed out before registering the soft tone of her voice and promptly looking away from Dahlia. "We should go to the tavern," she declared gruffly a moment later.

Dahlia nodded then turned towards the exit. Cara followed suit, and if her fingers brushed against the back of Dahlia's hand as they walked towards the stable door it was completely by accident.

To be continued ...

Comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 5**   


Richard eyed Zedd dubiously as his grandfather tucked into a plate of fried eggs with gusto.

"She's not going to like this," Richard declared frowning a bit, knowing that he was going to receive the most of Cara's ire if he did what Zedd proposed.

"Not at first," Zedd agreed. "But I think that we can all agree that a little discomfort is small price to pay to see Cara happy."

"I'll be the first to admit that Cara was uncharacteristically friendly last night, but is delaying our journey really going to make her happy?" Richard asked, already imagining Cara launching into another indignant speech about how much time they waste saving puppies, and rescuing cats from trees while they should be getting on with the business of saving the world, or in this case running D'Hara.

"My boy," Zedd said, placing his fork down and turning his attention fully towards his grandson. "Cara will no doubt be displeased to hear that we'll be staying in Ragora for a while longer, but that does not mean that the delay will not ultimately be to her benefit."

Kahlan had been mostly silent during Richard and Zedd's exchange. She too had noticed how accommodating Cara had been of Dahlia the night before, and despite how Cara tried to hide it she had been able to see that Cara was happy to see Dahlia. They had clearly cared very much for each other as children, and that the affection had survived the years of their separation and Cara's Mord'Sith training, was quite remarkable. Zedd's insistence on them staying longer still confused her however, and the more she watched him the more certain she became that he was holding something back.

"Zedd," Kahlan began carefully. "Richard and I are not adverse to the idea of staying in Ragora longer, and we would very much like to do whatever we can to make Cara happy. But if we're to take action, or in this case _not_ take action, we need to understand why. What are you not telling us?"

Zedd sighed softly, and pushed his plate of half finished eggs away from him. He had hoped that the promise of a warm bed, good food, and warm bathes would be enough to tempt Richard and Kahlan into agreeing to stay in town for a while longer without him needing to get into the intricacies of _why_ he was making the request, but he should have known better. Nothing escaped Kahlan's keen Confessor eyes, and even though a return to the People's Palace was not something that thrilled Richard, his responsibilities were not something that he would shirk without good reason.

Zedd lifted his hand waved it in a small circle, whispering a few magical words before he turned his attention back to Richard and Kahlan.

"For privacy," he told them before resting his elbows on the table and leaning towards them. "Now, to answer your question Kahlan, last night was not the first time I laid eyes on Dahlia Lawson. Before we reached the sands of …"

Richard and Kahlan listened attentively as Zedd related the events that had occurred leading up to him using the spelling of undoing. He told them of how they had encountered a Mord'Sith version of Dahlia who had lured Cara away by playing on the bond of history and love between them, though he also made sure to mention that despite Dahlia's subterfuge it was clear that she cared for Cara very deeply.

He told them of how Darken Rahl had tried to break Cara and had failed, and so then had turned to dark magic in order to turn her. He told them of the dark agiel spelled to make Cara feel the pain of all of those she had tortured and killed in the past, and how after suffering through that torture she had finally broken – as anyone would have – and told him all she knew about them.

He told them how Kahlan had confessed Dahlia and of Cara's rage and heart-break at having watched her lover die. He explained how the damage Darken Rahl had done to Cara was too deep to be overcome because of the magic that had been used to break her, and how he had suggested a spell of undoing to try and go back to a time before Darken Rahl had broken her.

He related the various ways the spell had gone awry until finally he was able to undo Dahlia and right the timeline enough that they could continue on with their mission to defeat the Keeper.

"…the thing that struck me when I saw Dahlia here, was that no matter what I changed, they continued to find each other," Zedd said, voice rough with emotion and from talking for so long. "I don't think it's a coincidence they keep being brought together. I think we should give them a chance to see what may happen without dark magic, Darken Rahl, banelings and the end of the world standing between them."

"Well," Kahlan sighed softly, leaning heavily against the back of the booth when Zedd finished speaking. "A love that spans universes, how could we possibly object to giving Cara a chance at that?"

xxx

As anticipated, Cara was not pleased when Richard told her that they would be staying on in Ragora indefinitely. Richard informed her that there were some construction projects taking place that the town council had requested his help with, and that there were some long standing legal matters to deal with that only the Mother Confessor would be able to resolve satisfactorily. Cara stared at him incredulously for an impressive amount of time, and then turned beseeching eyes to Kahlan hoping that she would see reason, but Kahlan supported Richard's decision. Cara's hand went to her agiel then in an attempt to center herself as she tried to convey the importance of making their way back to the People's Palace so that Richard could begin restoring order in D'Hara once more, but Richard insisted that a short delay would not do any lasting damage to D'Hara.

Cara bristled with indignance, but when Richard told her that it was an order, she accepted her fate with bad grace, and after spitting, "Lord Rahl," at him stormed out of the tavern.

Dahlia, who had entered the tavern with Cara and approached the Seeker alongside her, had observed the argument quietly, and when Cara stormed away Dahlia turned to watch her exit with a look of concern.

"She'll be fine after she blows off some steam," Kahlan said, drawing Dahlia's worried gaze over to her. "She just doesn't like sudden changes, or having to stay still for too long. She'll come around."

Dahlia nodded to Kahlan and offered her a weak smile, but a moment later she politely excused herself, and there was no doubt in any of their minds that she was going after Cara.

"Should we try to stop her?" Richard asked, watching Dahlia walk away with a frown.

"She'll be fine," Kahlan sighed. "I think she has a good idea what she's walking towards. The worst Cara will do is refuse to talk to her."

"Cara's refusals can be quite cutting," Richard pointed out, still smarting a little from the verbal battle he had just been in with the blonde.

Kahlan nodded, acknowledging the truth of it. When Cara was in a bad mood she could be exceptionally unpleasant to be around.

"We're staying in town so that they have a chance to spend time together. I think we have to let them spend time together. If Dahlia is too delicate for Cara's moods, then it's probably best that they find that out. And if she's not, well, I'm sure that the whole of Ragora will appreciate Cara returning to a better humour as soon as possible. I know I will."

"Well said," Zedd responded lifting his fork in salute before returning it to the plate to shovel a fork full of eggs into his mouth.

xxx

Dahlia found Cara just outside of the stables. Cara looked quite impressive sitting astride the horse, her pale hair gleaming like spun gold in the sunshine as she scowled into the distance trying to decide which road to take out of town.

"I had to find you," Dahlia said conversationally as she approached Cara. "I never got a chance to say goodbye last time," she continued, glancing up at Cara for a moment before she turned her attention to the stallion and reached out to stroke his jaw. "I didn't want that to happen again."

"If you'd had a chance to say goodbye before you wouldn't have had to because they would have taken you too," Cara responded dourly, glancing down at Dahlia after she spoke. "I'll be back," she offered in a slightly gentler tone, though she thought the lack of saddlebags and supplies should have made that obvious.

"Just going for a ride then?" Dahlia asked, still petting the horse, her eyes focused her hand as it moved instead of on Cara.

Cara simply grunted in response.

"It's a nice day for it," Dahlia observed, lifting her head up to take in the virtually cloudless blue sky above them. "And thanks to you and your friends the woods are safe again … though I doubt you would have let the threat of banelings stop you anyway," she went on, smiling up at Cara.

Cara shrugged, it was true. She hadn't needed to be afraid of banelings. Banelings had needed to be afraid of her.

"You're very difficult you know," Dahlia sighed a moment later when Cara made no verbal response to her.

"How so?" Cara asked arching a golden eyebrow as she looked down at Dahlia.

"Can I come with you?" Dahlia asked ignoring Cara's question since she suspected explaining to Cara that she should have already inquired if Dahlia would like to accompany her would be pointless.

Cara blinked at her and frowned.

"I planned to ride alone," Cara said carefully, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Plans change," Dahlia pointed, trying not to smile as Kahlan's words about Cara disliking change came back to her.

"I know," Cara muttered darkly, turning to glare in the direction of the tavern.

"I won't bother you," Dahlia promised looking at Cara until the blonde turned to meet her eyes. "Many people around here might beg to differ, but I assure you I can be quiet for impressively long … ah, middling long stretches of time."

Cara's lips quirked up at that a little, and sensing victory Dahlia continued.

"If I become a burden you can set me down on the side of the road. As we established earlier, the woods are free of banelings now so I'll safely be able to make my way back to town. It's a proposition with no drawbacks."

Cara looked down at Dahlia thoughtfully for a moment before responding.

"I _will_ leave you on the side of the road if you become bothersome," she warned.

"As you should, to break ones word is an offence that deserves punishment," Dahlia agreed easily. "I shall be quieter than a mouse however, so I have no reason to worry."

Cara rolled her eyes, but nonetheless leaned down and offered her hand to the other woman. The truth was that she was used to riding with others and her conversation with Dahlia had improved her mood enough that she no longer felt the need to shun all human company. She found Dahlia presence relatively enjoyable, and so the idea of spending a few more hours with her was not intolerable.

Dahlia lifted her hand quickly, wasting no time accepting Cara's hand. Cara's fingers wrapped around hers, her grip firm and secure and then Cara flexed her arm and Dahlia released a soft gasp and then a little laugh of delight as she found herself being easily hoisted up onto the back of the horse.

"You're strong," Dahlia breathed out as she found purchase on the back of the horse and began to settle herself.

Cara smiled at the words. She always enjoyed when people appreciated how impressive she was.

"Of course. I would not be much help to Lord Rahl if I wasn't," was Cara's dry response.

Dahlia stiffened behind her at the words and Cara found her own back straightening defensively.

"Richard," she said tersely a second later, "is the true Lord Rahl."

Dahlia released the breath she had been holding through her nose, and then moved to wrap her arms around Cara's waist.

"Is he really?" she asked softly, her voice offering no challenge only curiosity as she pressed her front firmly against Cara's back. "I've never heard such a thing before."

When she'd heard Cara spit out the title in the tavern she'd thought the blonde had been using it as a curse.

"It's true," Cara stated tensely as she felt Dahlia settle all around her. It was a lot of bodily contact all at once and Cara became stiff in the saddle as she wondered just what had possessed her to extend her hand to Dahlia a moment before. "And all will know it as truth once he takes his place on the throne," she forced herself to continue.

Though she might have doubted the wisdom of it, she _had_ extended her hand to Dahlia and so she was committed to taking Dahlia for a ride. Cara was not one to allow discomfort to stop her from honouring her commitments.

"Well, I look forward to that day," Dahlia said, flexing her arms slightly around Cara's waist as the blonde grasped the horses reins in preparation to move off. "Richard will make a fine Lord Rahl. The best Lord Rahl D'Hara has seen in centuries and you will keep him safe for all of us," she went on, pleased to feel the tense set of Cara's back relax as she spoke.

"It won't be easy. He's very reckless, quick to distract and trusts too easily," Cara huffed with a sigh, "but I have sworn to protect him and I keep my word."

Dahlia's lips quirked up slightly as she listened to Cara. She was sure that the blonde intended to sound irritated and put upon, but though her words conveyed those feelings, her tone didn't. There was affection in her voice when she spoke about Richard, even to complain about him, and hearing it made something warm and tender flutter in Dahlia's stomach.

"All of D'Hara thanks you," Dahlia muttered with a touch of amusement in her voice as she surreptitiously brushed her lips against Cara's neck.

"They should," Cara muttered, though like when she had spoken before, Dahlia could hear pleasure in her voice.

With that, Cara tugged on the horse's reins and they began to trot down the path that would lead them out of town.  


 **To be continued ...**

Comments are always welcome and are truly greatly appreaciated :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 6**   


The sun and Dahlia's body against her warmed Cara as they rode and she found herself genuinely relaxing as they trotted through the woods surrounding Ragora. Despite Dahlia's reassurances that she wouldn't, Cara had feared that Dahlia would ramble on incessantly about inconsequential matters as village women liked to do, but Dahlia had been true to her word and had been quiet during their ride, content to simply enjoy Cara's presence and the beauty of their surrounding.

The ride was peaceful, the silence comfortable, and not for the first time since arriving in Ragora, Cara thought that it was pleasant to be around Dahlia again.

As they rode on, Dahlia's head eventually fell to rest against the warm leather covering Cara's back and stayed there long enough that Cara began to wonder if she had fallen asleep. However, it seemed that Dahlia had just been enjoying being as close to Cara as possible for when they neared a fork in the road, Dahlia lifted her head and spoke, murmuring that she knew a spot nearby where they could stop for a rest.

Cara was used to riding long distances without stopping and did not need to rest but she agreed to Dahlia's suggestion. Richard's decree at the tavern meant that she had nothing pressing to attend to and nowhere else to go, so she saw no harm in stopping so that they could stretch their legs.

Dahlia directed Cara to a wooded enclosure through which a stream ran. The denseness of the trees made the enclosure slightly warmer than it was beyond the thicket, but the air was sweet with the scent of one of the plants that grew inside it and the clear water trickling through the space looked cool and refreshing. The area was lovely, but Cara was not one to marvel at such things. Kahlan would have been beside herself with pleasure had she been with them however, and Cara made a mental note to tell the Confessor about the spot when she next saw Kahlan.

Cara dismounted first and then offered her hand to Dahlia, helping her dismount. Once she was on the ground, Dahlia stretched prettily and murmured, "I want to show you something," to Cara before moving off towards a small clump of bushes.

Cara thought to herself that Dahlia was already showing her something as she watched the gentle, enticing sway of Dahlia's hips before she was gifted with the lovely sight of Dahlia bending over as brunette picked some fruits from the bushes around her. Trees and flowers generally left Cara unmoved, but she was not immune to other sorts of beauty, and the enclosure was currently offering her a breathtaking view.

When Dahlia returned to Cara her hand was filled with small, purplish berries with red seeds. Dahlia showed the berries to Cara who simply arched an unimpressed eyebrow at her.

"They're very good," Dahlia whispered, allowing her lips to curve up just the slightest bit. "They're the most delicious thing I've ever tasted … besides you."

Cara's lips pulled up into a small smile that quickly crept into large one as she took in Dahlia's saucy tone and the playful look in her eyes.

"Is that so?" she purred a few seconds later.

In response to her question Dahlia simply smiled and then used her free hand bring one of the berries up to Cara's mouth. Cara's lips parted to allow Dahlia to deposit the fruit inside, but Dahlia's smile turned impish and instead of placing the fruit in Cara's mouth, she slowly, teasingly trailed the plump berry over Cara's lips before finally depositing it into Cara's mouth. Cara held Dahlia's eyes with her own as she chewed, and when her mouth was still full with the juice of the berry, Dahlia leaned forward and captured Cara's lips so that they could share the berry and a kiss.

The rest of the berries Dahlia had picked met the same fate and when the last of them disappeared, Dahlia found herself suddenly lying on a soft patch of grass with an extremely aroused Mord'Sith on top of her.

"My dress," Dahlia protested as Cara's lips attacked her neck while her hands pushed their way under the dress in question.

"You should have thought of that before enflaming my passions," Cara murmured into Dahlia's warm, deliciously salty skin.

Dahlia laughed softly and lifted her hand to Cara's head to run her fingers through silky golden hair.

"I meant for you to take it off, not to stop," she whispered when Cara lifted her head to look at her.

A rush of desire slammed through Cara's body upon hearing Dahlia's words and she leaned forward to capture the brunette's lips in a fierce kiss as her hands clutched and squeezed at Dahlia's thighs. Dahlia moaned into her mouth and lifted her hand to the back of Cara's neck, holding her where she was, as desperate to be close to Cara as Cara was to be close to her.

Cara's head swam with the taste and smell of Dahlia, and unbidden, images of her and Dahlia passionately exploring each other in the fields where they had played as children came to her. Images of them splashing together naked in streams under the cover of darkness, and kissing huddled together under Dahlia's sheets after barricading her bedroom door played through Cara's brain, and before Cara was even aware that she wanted to speak she heard herself panting, "I wish we could have grown big together," into Dahlia's waiting mouth.

Dahlia breathed sharply upon hearing Cara's words, and her eyelids fluttered quickly as she tried to clamp down on the sudden welling of tears in her eyes.

"Me too," she whispered softly stroking her fingers tenderly across Cara's cheek before she used them to direct Cara's mouth back to hers. "Show me what we missed," she breathed into Cara's mouth a few seconds later, understanding that this adult Cara was more at ease with actions than words.

Cara's hands smoothed up Dahlia's thighs to her hips, carrying her dress with them and Dahlia lifted her arms so that Cara could pull the dress over her head. Despite her haste to touch Dahlia, Cara remembered her earlier words and was mindful to place the dress carefully to the side instead of giving into her natural instinct to toss it carelessly somewhere behind her, and then she turned to face Dahlia and surged forward, pressing their lips together eagerly.

If she had grown big in Stowcroft her lips would have been the first to kiss Dahlia's, of that she was sure. But she had not grown big in Stowcroft. Lips that were not hers had been the first to kiss Dahlia's, hands that were not hers had been the first to touch her breasts and feel between her legs. A body that was not hers had been the first to bring Dahlia to orgasm, and arms that were not hers had been the first to hold Dahlia's naked body as she drifted off into a peaceful, post-coital sleep.

All of the firsts that would have been Cara's had not been hers, and there was nothing Cara could do about that. As she had told Dahlia that morning, the past was past. She could never make her hands, her lips, and her body the first for Dahlia, but she could make them the most memorable.

Cara knew she could not be Dahlia's first, but she _would_ be her best.

xxx

Dahlia's fingers trailed over Cara's skin lazily, tracing old and newer scars as well as stroking flawless expanses of smooth, unblemished skin.

"How did you end up here?" Cara asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them after their love-making.

"Well, I was peacefully walking through town when a leather clad ruffian on a horse pulled me on behind her and rode out of town with me," Dahlia began lightly, dipping her head to press her lips just above Cara's heart, her lips curving up into a smile a second later when she heard and felt Cara huff.

"Here in Ragora, not naked and debauched beside me," Cara responded pinching lightly at the pale flesh of Dahlia's hip, making her squeak and then laugh.

When Dahlia had first approached her in the town square she had assumed that Dahlia had married and moved to be with her husband, but no husband had turned up or been mentioned. Dahlia had not been as rambunctious as Cara had been when they were children, though she had been brave and daring in her own quieter way. Despite that, Cara did not think it likely that Dahlia would have packed up and moved to the Midlands by herself.

"With my family," Dahlia responded, resting her head against Cara's chest. "A few years after you were taken I was almost snatched in another raid. I was thirteen, but smallish for my age and they feared that when the Mord'Sith raided again that I might still be targeted even though I was nearly at the age when girls are generally safe. Ragora is where we ended up. The cottage I live in is on the outskirts of a vineyard my parents own. They're away at the moment or I would have already dragged you to see them," she said grinning as Cara made a face. Her mother in particular had always adored Cara and would have been thrilled to see her, but Dahlia knew that paying a social call to her parents was not something that Cara would have looked forward to. "I moved into the cottage a few years ago after they found that I was virtually impossible to marry off. I think they hoped that if they could prove I had domestic skills and could take care of a house on my own that the process might've moved along, but alas …" she sighed, not sounding the least bit disappointed by her parents inability to find her a husband.

"Who wouldn't want to marry you?" Cara asked sounding almost irritated by how illogical the concept was.

"Despite the rumours about me and village girls, finding men who want to marry me hasn't been the problem," Dahlia replied smiling a little as she snuggled closer to Cara. "The problem has been finding a man I'll agree to marry."

Cara smiled at that. It didn't occur to many village girls to refuse a match their parents had made for them – especially a match to a well-off family – and Cara knew that Dahlia's parents were wealthy enough that they only would have tried to match her to a husband from a comparable background. Dahlia had always had her own mind however, and Cara was sure that it never occurred to her to agree to something she did not want simply because it was expected.

"Besides, it's not as if they need to get me on someone else's tab," Dahlia continued. "I make a fairly good living, and _not_ as a barmaid," she added knowing that Cara was likely to make some cute remark.

"And what non-barmaiding job allows you to ride off in the middle of the day to have sex in the woods?" Cara asked arching a pale eyebrow.

"I'm the town healer," Dahlia declared importantly. "Well, technically I'm the apprentice healer, but now that my training is done Old Thom barely sees patients. Nine out of ten times if someone is injured or sick I'm the one who treats them."

"And what are the sick and injured suppose to do while you're out here having your way with me?" Cara asked smiling.

"Old Thom, despite the name isn't that old. He's just lazy and prefers to spend his days talking at the barber shop and his nights talking at the tavern," Dahlia responded rolling her eyes though there was fondness in her tone when she spoke of him. Not many would have taken a young girl on as an apprentice and she would always love him for taking her on and giving her a chance to prove herself, even if he did shirk his responsibilities much of the time. "He's perfectly capable of treating people when I'm out gathering supplies."

"Is that what you're doing?" Cara asked, looking down her torso to watch Dahlia's fingers as they skimmed over her ribs, just beneath the swell of her breast.

"It's what I'm going to tell him I was doing," Dahlia responded with a smile as she trailed her fingers up a little higher until she was cupping Cara's breast in her hand. "By the way we have to stop and gather some supplies before heading back to town."

"I don't have to do anything. I'm on vacation," Cara declared, her voice hitching the slightest bit when Dahlia's thumb brushed over her nipple.

"If you want to spend the rest of your vacation seeing me naked, you'll help me gather supplies," Dahlia replied before dipping her head down to wrap her lips around Cara's nipple, sucking on it and teasing it with her tongue until it was hard as diamond between her teeth.

Cara groaned and reached out for Dahlia, drawing the brunette's lips to her own so that she could kiss her.

If she was going to spend her afternoon picking little plants out of the ground, then by the Creator she was going to have a few more orgasms first.

  
 **  
To be continued ...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

**Part 7**

  
**Three Days Later**   


It surprised Dahlia how quickly she had become accustomed to Cara's crotchety yet charming presence in her life, but there was no denying how happy it made her to see the blonde as a large smile pulled her lips up when she glanced out of her kitchen window and her eyes fell upon a vision of red and gold slowly sauntering up the path to her cottage.

The urge to run to the door and fling it open was great, but Dahlia fought against the desire and instead calmly wiped her hands on a cloth and then moved to set the table for lunch, waiting patiently – if a bit anxiously – for Cara's arrival at her door.

When the rapid series of terse knocks sounded Cara's arrival, Dahlia took her time walking to the door, but she couldn't completely wipe the smile she had been wearing since first spotting Cara off of her face ... at least until she opened the door, that was.

The soft smile touching Dahlia's lips disappeared the moment she caught sight of Cara up close, and instead of the bright 'Hello!' she had planned on leading with, Dahlia found herself frowning and scrunching up her face as she declared, "You're filthy!"

Cara's eyes narrowed in displeasure, but before she could reply, Dahlia eyes widened in alarm and she gaped at Cara, exclaiming, "And bleeding!" before following that up with, "In the name of Rahl, what happened to you?" in a tone that was both concerned and incredulous.

"It doesn't hurt," Cara muttered glancing down at herself and frowning slightly when she had to admit that she was really quite dirty.

For days she had refused to help Richard with his projects around town as a form of protest, but having nothing to do with her days eventually became a burden on her, and so, Cara had joined Richard earlier that morning and begun to work.

"Oh, then by all means keep on bleeding all over everything," Dahlia replied sarcastically before reaching out for Cara's arm and dragging her inside of the cottage. "I'm surprised you managed to make it up here without fainting."

"Mord'Sith don't faint," Cara declared, turning to glare at Dahlia as the brunette manhandled her into the kitchen.

"Without other Mord'Sith around to breathe on you when you pass out and die from marching around with heavily bleeding wounds, you're just as susceptible to effects of blood loss as anyone else," Dahlia said moving over to the kitchen counter to pour some water from a jug into a large bowl.

"It's not heavily bleeding," Cara said frowning as she looked down at her hand.

She'd seen heavily bleeding wounds before, ones that she'd suffered and ones that she had inflicted, and she knew that this wasn't heavily bleeding. It was perhaps more than a surface wound, but it was not anything that would have stopped her from being able to adequately defend herself.

"You're overreacting."

Dahlia paused next to Cara and breathed in deeply, a thoughtful expression coming over her features as she did.

"Possibly ... a little bit," she admitted with a sigh as she put a bowl of water down on the kitchen table and then sat down in the chair beside Cara. "But it is going to need stitches, and it should have immediately been cleaned and wrapped. Walking through a village with an open wound like this is the perfect way to get an infection," Dahlia said carefully taking Cara's hand into her lap so that she could begin to clean the wound.

"I'm not going to ... " Cara begam derisively.

"Let me guess, Mord'Sith don't get infections?" Dahlia interjected glancing up at her.

Cara glared at her and said nothing and Dahlia smiled faintly before going back to cleaning the wound.

"I've been cut before, you know," Cara muttered peevishly a minute later. "I know when a wound is dangerous."

"Of course," Dahlia breathed out, pausing in her work for a moment as she thought about the scars that littered Cara's body. "I'm sorry," she murmured a moment later, starting to work again. "You've survived things I couldn't imagine. You probably _could_ glare an infection into submission."

Cara smirked.

"I could certainly agiel one into submission."

Dahlia shivered.

"If that's how you would have fixed this, then I'm glad you bled halfway across Ragora to get to me."

"It works," Cara defended militantly.

"It also explains why you have so many scars," Dahlia said realizing that if not for Mord'Sith field triage, many of Cara's previous wounds probably wouldn't have scarred.

"There were no lovely village girls waiting to berate me and stitch up my wounds on the battlefield," Cara said cantankerously, though her mood softened when Dahlia simply responded to her surliness with an amused smile. "An agiel might be a crude tool, but it's quick and when people are trying to kill you, quick keeps you alive."

Dahlia nodded, acknowledging the truth of Cara's words.

"Well," she said as she placed the bowl of bloody water back on the table and then reached for a bottle of salve, "you have a lovely village girl waiting to stitch up your wounds now, so you can reserve your agiels for unruly drunks."

Cara sighed and slumped back in her chair morosely as Dahlia began to apply the salve.

"I wouldn't have done permanent damage to him," Cara muttered darkly.

"Poor, Ca. Kahlan never lets you have any fun," Dahlia said with mocking commiseration as she reached for a needle and thread. "Would you like a drink to ...?"

Cara looked over at her sharply.

"Sorry," Dahlia said. "I know. Mord'Sith don't need painkillers."

Cara didn't dignify that with a response, and smiling faintly, Dahlia went to work stitching up Cara's hand.

"Is this ayala root?" Cara asked about halfway through as she sniffed at the jar of salve.

Dahlia looked up at Cara in surprise. "It is," she breathed out impressed.

"Mord'Sith medical treatment isn't all agiels and the Breath of Life," Cara explained a bit smugly as her eyes met Dahlia's.

All Mord'Sith were given rudimentary healing lessons so that when they tortured and trained they could keep their subjects healthy enough to endure more torture and training – though Cara kept that to herself, understanding that as a healer it was unlikely that Dahlia would appreciate the reason for her knowledge of medicines.

"What other healing plants do Mord'Sith use?" Dahlia asked curiously, glancing up at Cara for a moment before she quickly returned her gaze to her work.

"If I answer do you promise to feed me?" Cara asked.

"I'll feed you even if you don't, but I'd like it if you answered," Dahlia replied lightly, offering Cara a soft smile.

"We drink Tura leaf tea," Cara informed her.

"How healthy," Dahlia breathed out. "It's excellent for your skin and digestion. What else?"

Cara related to Dahlia what she could remember of the healing plants she had been taught. Truthfully, the art of healing had never much appealed to her and if it had been necessary to treat the wounds of one of the unfortunate souls who met her agiel, Cara had often forced one of her lesser sisters – which was to say any of her sisters – to prepare the medicines for her and also apply them.

"All done," Dahlia announced minutes later, "not that you care one way or the other since you're so tough," she continued, grinning up a Cara before she dipped her head down and pressed her lips to against the newly stitched flesh.

To be honest, even though villagers throughout D'Hara and the Midlands spoke with reverent fear about the levels of pain Mord'Sith could not only endure but also enjoy, it still came as a shock to Dahlia that Cara's voice hadn't wavered – nor had she so much as winced – as the needle passed through her skin again and again. Dahlia had stitched up many tough, hardened farmers and laborers, and even after being fortified with alcohol the toughest of them had at least clenched their jaws and began to sweat as they used all of their concentration not to flinch and swear. That Cara could be so unmoved by pain was impressive, but it made Dahlia ache for her more than it awed her, and she had not been able to stop herself from pressing her lips to Cara's flesh, offering a small token of comfort for all of the pain Cara endured through her life.

"Was I a good patient?" Cara asked curiously as Dahlia gathered her supplies and cleared them off of the table.

Dahlia looked over her shoulder at Cara, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Very brave, irritable but quite impressive," Dahlia replied before tipping the bloody water from the bowl out of her kitchen window.

"So you would say I'm deserving of a reward then?" Cara asked.

"Oh, I see where this is going," Dahlia said smirking as she cleaned her hands in a fresh bowl of water and then moved to the other end of the kitchen to retrieve the lunch she had prepared. "Lunch, as promised," she declared a few seconds later, brining the items over to the table.

"I'd rather have you," Cara said ignoring the food in favor of taking Dahlia's hip into her bandaged hand, using it to tug Dahlia onto her lap.

"I'm sure you would," Dahlia responded, feeling her body begin to respond to Cara's tone and touch, but ignoring it. "You may not be bleeding anymore, but you're still filthy," Dahlia said drawing her finger across Cara's neck and then frowning down at her dirty finger tip.

"I've been working hard improving the functionality of your town," Cara said.

"More likely you grew bored of being a lay about and decided that hammering things was more agreeable than wandering around town scaring teenage boys for entertainment," Dahlia said knowingly as she slipped off of Cara's lap and then took a seat at the table.

Cara shrugged and Dahlia let it go by without comment knowing that it was as close to an acknowledgement as she was going to get.

"You don't like gooseberries," Cara commented as Dahlia began to serve the food.

"No, but you do," Dahlia said before she paused and looked at Cara thoughtfully. "At least you used to."

"I still do," Cara said before Dahlia could worry herself further, "Though I've not had any for a long time."

"Then I'll get more," Dahlia said smiling as she sat down again. "You can have them until you're sick of them."

Cara was silent for a moment and then, almost shyly, she looked up at Dahlia through her eyelashes and said, "I'd be nauseated in no time if you put some into a pie."

"If you wash up before you come over tomorrow you can have me and pie," Dahlia responded, her voice a little muffled from biting down on her bottom lip to stop herself smiling adoringly at Cara.

Cara's fingers brushed against one of her agiel's to center herself as a happy smile threatened to tug up the corners of her lips.

"I'll do what I feel like doing," Cara eventually grumbled in response, though she was already devising a plan to sneak back to the tavern mid-day without Richard seeing her – because if he saw her he would question her incessantly about it and, Lord Rahl or not, it was none of his damn business.

"Of course you will," Dahlia responded easily, bringing a bit of bread up to her lips to hide her smile as she began to mentally catalogue the supplies she would need to gather to make the pie.

  
 **To be continued ...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating the Keeper our band of heroes heads back to D'Hara, and on the way Cara meets a familiar face.

  
**Part 8**   


**Five Days Later**

Kahlan forced her lips up into a smile as a village woman approached her, and let the woman take her hands as she thanked Kahlan for the work she had done for her the day before settling a land despite between the woman's family and a neighboring farm. Kahlan had only been out on the streets for a few minutes but already she had been approached by five people seeking to thank her or ask for her council. She was happy to help of course, it was a pleasant distraction to actually be able to serve as a Confessor and agent of justice instead of fighting as a warrior, but it was exhausting in its own way and she was anxious to arrive at the building site where Richard and Cara were working.

Three villagers later, Kahlan arrived at her destination, and through the dust swirling around in the air, she was just able to make out Cara's leather clad form striding purposefully away from her direction towards the tavern.

"Was it me?" Kahlan asked Richard, her eyes on Cara's rapidly retreating form as Richard pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"No," he breathed out, eyes twinkling and a smile forming on his lips as his gaze turned towards Cara as well. "We're breaking for lunch," Richard continued barely suppressing the urge to laugh as Cara disappeared inside of the tavern.

"Will Cara be joining us today?" Kahlan asked though she already knew that the odds were not in their favor.

She and Zedd had barely seen Cara during their duration in Ragora. Richard still spent most of his day with the blonde, but during the evening hours when their lives were their own, Cara was rarely around.

"No," Richard said finally giving in to his natural inclination and chuckling. "It seems Dahlia is fixing another feast for Cara."

"Dahlia's cottage is in the opposite direction," Kahlan pointed out.

"Oh, I know," Richard said grinning widely. "Cara's going to the Inn to wash up," he continued, losing the battle he was fighting with himself and laughing again when Kahlan turned to look at him with wide, surprised eyes. "I guess Dahlia's more particular than you," Richard went on, wrapping his sweaty arms around Kahlan and hugging her tightly, making her laugh. "This is the fourth day in a row Cara's stopped by the Inn before going to see her."

"By the Creator," Kahlan breathed out shaking her head. "Dahlia may have more powerful magic than Zedd."

They had all witnessed Cara stalk off covered in sweat, blood, dirt and various other types of gore in order to satisfy her sexual cravings. Not once in all of the time they had been traveling together had Kahlan seen Cara bother to try and make herself presentable before going off to hunt for someone to bed, and now she was washing up mid-day.

"Don't tell Zedd I said this, but I think you may be onto something," Richard whispered as he nuzzled Kahlan's ear.

"She's been ... happy this past week, hasn't she?" Kahlan said thoughtfully as she and Richard started towards the Inn as well.

As far as Kahlan could determine, Cara wasn't often upset. Irritated and frustrated, yes, but she rarely seemed depressed or sad. In the same tradition, Cara was very rarely exuberant - unless she was agieling someone or knew that she would soon have the opportunity to agiel someone. Cara's moods were relatively constant. When they were moving and being productive she was focused, calm, relatively pleasant and content. When she felt they were dawdling or using their time inefficiently she was irritable, brusque, and often stomped ahead of the group, silently condemning their behavior.

Since arriving in Ragora however, or more accurately since Cara had been reunited with Dahlia, when Kahlan did see her, Cara seemed relaxed and was generally in a pleasant mood despite the fact that they were 'wasting time' staying in the town. She smiled more easily than Kahlan could remember, and even though she was spending far less time than she was used to around Cara, Kahlan had heard her laugh – well, chuckle – more during their stay in Ragora than she had in the past four months.

"I think she has been," Richard agreed, drawing Kahlan out of her thoughts. "I'm glad we listened to Zedd. I think this has been good for her. I think Dahlia's been a very ... civilizing influence on her."

"Civilizing," Kahlan repeated smiling. "I'll do you a favor and never tell Cara you said that."

"Thank you," Richard responded making Kahlan smile. "What is it?" he asked a few seconds later when the soft smile Kahlan had been wearing since she arrived faded and her eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"We're going to have to leave here soon," Kahlan said slowly as she settled into a table at the tavern. "This has been a lovely vacation but we do ..."

"Have places to be," Richard finished for her, leaning back as he realized why Kahlan suddenly looked concerned. "You're worried about how leaving now that Cara's become attached to Dahlia is going to affect her."

Kahlan nodded.

"I must admit, despite what Zedd said I don't think that I really expected such a strong connection to form between Cara and Dahlia," Kahlan said shaking her head a little bit. "The possibility that we would end up dragging Cara away from someone she deeply cared for seemed ... unlikely."

Unlike Richard, Kahlan had seen Cara charmed by another person. She had seen Cara smitten when Leo had been named Seeker. The loss of Leo had not left Cara unfazed, but Cara had recovered far more quickly than Kahlan had anticipated. That first night in Ragora, the way Cara acted around Dahlia reminded Kahlan a lot of the secretly charmed, barely tolerant attitude she had adopted around Leo, but the relationship that had formed between the two women since then ran far deeper than the flirtation Cara had with the former Seeker, and Kahlan was worried about how Cara would deal with having to leave her. Zedd had said that it seemed as if the fates were trying to bring the two women together, and it seemed unnaturally cruel to Kahlan to force them to separate after giving them the time to allow a loving relationship to bloom.

"I know what you mean," Richard sighed. "I saw them holding hands the other day," he said smiling when Kahlan smiled at his words. It had only been for a moment, and Cara had dropped Dahlia's hand as soon as her eyes met his, but it had still happened and he'd seen it. "And yesterday morning, when Cara showed up to the site, her hair had been braided," he continued looking over to meet Kahlan's eyes.

Since they had found Cara bruised and bleeding after being attacked by her sisters, not once had Cara ever attempted to start braiding her hair again, even though at times it had grown long enough. Kahlan had offered to braid it for her once when their friendship was still budding, and Cara had answered her with a withering look that had dissuaded the Mother Confessor from bringing it up again. That Cara would now allow Dahlia the privilege spoke volumes about the growing relationship between the two women.

"I thought this would be ... an affair," Richard sighed, "but it feels like so much more," he said unconsciously reaching out for Kahlan's hand and taking it into his own.

The barmaid arrived soon after to take their orders, halting their conversation momentarily, and when Richard returned his attention to Kahlan he saw that she looked thoughtful again.

"What are you thinking?"

"Dahlia is very pleasant company," Kahlan began.

"She's taken, and so are you," Richard replied making Kahlan chuckle and slap him on the shoulder.

"She also has a very useful skill set," Kahlan continued.

Richard stared at Kahlan for a moment and then nodded his head in understanding.

"You think we should take her with us."

"I think ..." Kahlan began carefully, "that I should have a talk with her to try and determine if Dahlia coming with us would be a viable option." Kahlan sighed. "She has a good life here. She has family and status and is comfortable here. Life on the road is difficult, dangerous, and once we arrive at the People's Palace things are likely to stay just as difficult and dangerous for some time. It would be a lot to ask."

"Not if she's in love," Richard said.

"No," Kahlan said softly. "Not if she's in love," she agreed, "Which is why I ought to speak with her before proposing anything."

"Should we speak to Cara about it?" Richard asked though he sounded dubious.

Kahlan sighed and leaned back against the booth looking perturbed.

"She's Cara," Kahlan finally breathed out and Richard nodded in perfect understanding. "She'll insist that's she fine and that she doesn't need anyone or anything. After all, she's Mord'Sith," Kahlan declared importantly as Cara often did, making Richard smile.

"You're the one who pointed out she doesn't like surprises," Richard said knowing that if Dahlia was amenable to traveling with them that Kahlan would want him to issue a decree as 'Lord Rahl'. Cara would not likely not respond any better to being surprised with the knowledge than she was to being informed that they were staying on in Ragora, but she would obey, no matter in how ill a humor. After all, she was Mord'Sith.

"Children don't like vegetables, but we still make them eat them," Kahlan responded.

Richard stared at her for a moment, and then his warm brown eyes danced with amusement as his lips curved up into a smile.

"I'll do you a favor and never tell Cara you said that," Richard smirked, parroting back Kahlan's earlier words.

"Thank you," Kahlan said smiling ruefully, even though on many occasions when Cara was displeased her behavior truly did remind Kahlan of a five year old, well, an extremely lethal five year old.

"Okay," Richard breathed out as the barmaid arrived with their food. "Talk to Dahlia and we'll take it from there."

  
To be continued ...

Comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated :D


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

The Next Night

"Close your eyes," Dahlia breathed out as she stroked her fingers gently over Cara's cheek, luxuriating in the feel of her skin.

"That would leave me vulnerable to attack," Cara deadpanned as she held Dahlia's gaze.

Dahlia just controlled the urge to roll her eyes.

"You're not afraid of a village girl are you?" she asked a moment later, smiling down at Cara overly sweetly before bending to place a soft kiss on the blonde's lips. "I thought that you were a big ... uh, 'slightly above average height', fearless warrior. Surely nothing in these parts poses a threat to you."

"First of all, Kahlan is abnormally tall. She's practically a giant," Cara groused making Dahlia smile, "Secondly, there is nothing around here that I could not dispatch with my eyes closed ... and one hand bound behind my back," she boasted, looking Dahlia in the eyes as she spoke, daring her to disagree.

Dahlia didn't.

"Then close them," Dahlia responded looking and sounding quite pleased with herself.

"Fine," Cara grumbled as Dahlia smiled down at her indulgently and then she closed her eyes. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I thought I'd decorate your nails and then take your measurements so I can sew a nice new pink dress for you," Dahlia responded, laughing softly when Cara's eyes immediately opened and then narrowed at her suspiciously. "It's a surprise, Ca. I promise you'll like it."

Cara watched her for a moment, and then her eyes trailed down to the neckline of Dahlia's dress.

"Does it involve nudity?" Cara asked as a wicked grin began to form on her lips.

"If you're good," Dahlia responded.

"I'm never good," Cara replied looking and sounding quite pleased with herself.

"You were very good to me this morning," Dahlia said, blushing though the darkness of the night sky helped to mask it.

She had woken up to the sun warming her face and Cara between her legs. She thought that waking up that way every morning might end up spoiling her, but she was not averse to the thought of being surprised awake that way once in a while.

"I thought I was very bad this morning," Cara responded, running her hands up Dahlia's thighs much as she had that morning before she reintroduced her tongue to the sweet spot between Dahlia's legs.

"More ... naughty," Dahlia breathed out, sighing softly as Cara's hands moved over her body. "But I like you that way, so when you're being bad, you're actually being good," Dahlia whispered, her voice hitching slightly when Cara's hands found her breasts.

Dahlia leaned down and brought her lips to Cara's, sighing again as Cara took possession of her mouth, dominating the kiss in a way that never failed to make Dahlia shiver and throb.

"Your surprise," Dahlia murmured against Cara's lips when the blonde's hands began to venture beneath her clothes.

"Did you plan for me to have my way with you in the middle of your parent's vineyard?" Cara asked, hands still moving as she gazed up into Dahlia's eyes.

"No," Dahlia exhaled softly.

"Then this is a surprise," Cara murmured smiling. "And I do like it. Let's keep doing this."

Dahlia laughed softly and allowed Cara to kiss her thoroughly once more before she pulled back.

"You're worse than a teenage boy," Dahlia declared affectionately a few seconds later. "It's a good thing you were born a woman."

"Why?" Cara asked curiously.

"You'd have knocked up half of Stowcroft if you'd had a cock," Dahlia responded, biting down on her bottom lip coyly as the word 'cock' fell from her lips.

Cara was silent for a moment as she considered Dahlia's words.

"I wouldn't have," she said finally. "I'd just have knocked you up," she continued, her words and tone light, though when she met Dahlia's eyes her gaze was surprisingly serious.

"Really?" Dahlia asked softly.

Cara nodded.

"I had you in my bed when I was five. Why would I have strayed?" Cara asked, surprising herself a bit with her response though she did not doubt the truth of her words once they were out of her mouth.

Cara was who she was, but if she had been left to grow up in Stowcroft she would have been a different woman and that Cara would have had no reason to look elsewhere for companionship with a woman like Dahlia in her life. When they were children the sun had rose and set for her with Dahlia, and Cara couldn't fathom what could have changed that except for the Mord'Sith.

"You could have had your choice of any man, and more than a few women, in Stowcroft ... and all surrounding areas, if not the whole of D'Hara," Dahlia whispered gazing down into Cara's stunning face, stroking her finger along her jaw as if to convince herself that such beauty could truly exist.

"Choice is only tempting if there's the possibility of attaining something better," Cara replied, scanning Dahlia's face with her eyes as she spoke. "I could not have found a better mate than you."

Dahlia breathed in sharply at Cara's words and she blinked a few times before responding.

"You're a flatterer," she accused a few seconds later, but the soft, breathy quality of her voice gave away the pleasure Cara's words gave her.

"Flattery is easy when the words spoken are true," Cara replied.

On the surface Dahlia seemed quite simple, but her exterior, what one could discern from simply looking at her, was quite deceptive. Dahlia was beautiful, there was no deception there, but Dahlia's was a beauty that grew even more impressive the more one came to know her. It was strange to Cara, that learning more about Dahlia and spending time with her should make Dahlia more attractive to her, but there was no denying that it was true.

In the past, if Cara had wanted someone and they had proven pleasurable in bed, she continued to want them, but they became no more beautiful or handsome in her eyes because they had brought her body pleasure. However, with Dahlia it was different. Cara found herself missing Dahlia when they were not together, and when they were together she would sometimes find herself studying Dahlia face, unwilling and unable to look away from her.

But it was more than Dahlia's looks that made Cara want her.

Dahlia's mind was sharp and cunning like Trianna's had been, but her heart was pure and compassionate like Kahlan's. Dahlia made Cara think and kept her on her toes which exhilarated Cara, but Cara could also trust Dahlia and be at ease around her, which gave Cara a feeling of peace she could never remember feeling before – at least not since she was a child.

Dahlia made her laugh and smile as Leo had, but Dahlia understood Cara's moods better than he ever did – perhaps ever could have. Dahlia knew how to tease Cara without irritating her, and though she was lively and talkative, Dahlia could also be still and quiet and she understood when Cara needed that.

Dahlia was compliant without being submissive. She respected Cara but she did not fear. Dahlia knew her own mind and would challenge Cara, but not in a way that provoked aggression. Dahlia had an innate understanding of her moods and how to deal with them that only Kahlan had ever come close to matching.

Cara had changed since they were children, and so had Dahlia, but the understanding that had brought them together as children was still at work as adults. They had come together seamlessly when they were little, and though Cara did not quite understand how after so much time they could still fit together so exactly, she could not help but admit that they still suited each other remarkably well. It seemed, no matter how impossible, that theirs was a light that had never gone out.

"If we had grown big together, and if it had been possible, I would have gladly born your child," Dahlia breathed out, blinking rapidly to control the tears building in her eyes.

Cara drew her thumb across Dahlia's cheek softly, regarding her tenderly before she allowed a rakish smile to touch her lips.

"She would have been a very good looking baby."

"A very good looking, arrogant baby," Dahlia whispered, smiling down at Cara wetly.

"Very good looking baby who spoke the truth," Cara corrected. "It wouldn't have been her fault that she was so much prettier, and smarter, and stronger, and faster, and generally superior to those around her."

"In every way except humility," Dahlia breathed out amused.

"A useless character trait," Cara declared, waving her hand dismissively. "She would have been better off without it."

"Our imaginary child sound like a force to be reckoned with," Dahlia murmured as she gazed down at Cara gently.

"Of course," Cara replied. "She would have been mine."

Dahlia grinned and leaned down to kiss Cara softly.

"Whose imaginary child do you think would win in a fight, ours or Kahlan and Richard's?" Dahlia asked curiously.

"Ours," Cara responded without hesitation. "Kahlan and Richard's would inevitably become distracted by a kitten sniffing a flower and lose all focus thereby creating an opening for our child to annihilate her."

"Would our child really need to annihilate theirs?" Dahlia asked laughing softly.

"Yes," Cara replied, her eyes narrowing in thought. "The half-giant would probably cheat and confess her otherwise."

"I'm going to tell Kahlan you said that," Dahlia said pointing the tip of her finger into Cara's chest.

"No, you're not," Cara replied easily, "You're not a tattle-tale."

"You'd have gotten into so much trouble if I was," Dahlia said affectionately.

"Lucky for me you think I'm good when I'm bad," Cara drawled bringing her hands back into play, slipping them underneath Dahlia's dress and smoothing them up her thighs.

"I can't believe you're not even a little bit curious about the surprise I have for you," Dahlia sighed though she made no effort to stop Cara's hand from settling between her legs.

Cara pressed her fingers against Dahlia's cloth covered sex and Dahlia's eyes closed as she breathed in sharply.

"My hand is between your legs," Cara whispered, stroking Dahlia gently, teasingly. "What could possibly be better than this?"

Dahlia's lips parted to respond, but before releasing a word she thought better of it and closed her mouth and sighed contently.

"Nothing," she whispered, allowing her lips to curve up into a smile.

"Actually ..." Cara began, smirking as her hand stilled against Dahlia.

"Actually what?" Dahlia asked suspiciously, arching a chestnut eyebrow down at Cara.

"Nudity would be nice," Cara breathed out, her voice both seductive and hopeful as she stared up at Dahlia.

Dahlia rolled her eyes at Cara, but raised her arms nonetheless, allowing Cara to lift the dress off of her.

"You're right," Cara whispered, running hands up Dahlia's nude torso until she was cupping her breasts. "These were excellent after dinner plans," she murmured, smirking for a second before she lowered her head to nuzzle at Dahlia's breasts.

Dahlia laughed and then urged Cara's head up so that she could kiss her.

This wasn't exactly what Dahlia had in mind for dessert when she had lead Cara out to the vineyard, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would be delicious.

To be continued ...

Comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated :D


	10. Chapter 10

  
**Part 10**   


"Kahlan," Dahlia exclaimed in surprise as she saw the Mother Confessor walk through the doors of the shop. "You're the last person I expected to see. I hope you're not feeling ill."

"No, no, nothing of the sort," Kahlan said waving her hand lightly as she offered Dahlia a smile. "I stopped by to see you, actually," she continued as she walked over to the counter Dahlia was standing behind, crushing some plants with a mortar and pestle.

"If you've heard stories about me skinny dipping in the river after drinking too much wine at the last Harvest Festival, and then tipping over a cow, I'm not going to look you in the eye when I deny it," Dahlia stated wryly, glancing up to meet Kahlan's eyes for a moment before she returned her gaze to her work.

"I don't know why you would want to," Kahlan said smiling as she rested her arms on the top of the stone counter. "All of my best stories start with 'I was skinny dipping in the river after drinking too much wine.'"

Dahlia looked over at her laughed before shaking her head in amusement and then glancing back down to the mortar and pestle still being held in her hands.

"It's a shame you all won't be around for the Harvest Festival this year. I hear there'll be a cask mixed with wine and ale. We could have streaked through the town square and painted our names on some horses," Dahlia drawled, smiling slyly as she placed the mortar and pestle down on the counter top and then wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. "I make excellent tea," Dahlia commented a moment later, turning her full attention to Kahlan.

"I'd love to try some. Thank you," Kahlan responded.

"Why don't you come in back with me? There's a small table and some chairs. We'll be more comfortable," Dahlia said tilting her head in the direction of the doorway on the left side of the shop.

"Lead the way," Kahlan said pushing herself off of the counter before nodding to Dahlia who smiled and then started towards the doorway.

xxx

They walked in silence into the room, but once they were inside and Kahlan had taken a seat, Dahlia looked over at her and said, "Richard mentioned Cara wearing a pink dress the first night we met. It's absolutely necessary for my continued existence that you to tell me the whole story."

Kahlan had laughed at that, and then she had leaned back in her chair and begun to tell Dahlia about their adventure with the Magrave as Dahlia began to prepare their tea.

Kahlan wasn't sure how long the two of them spent in the backroom talking, but she suspected that they must have been there for hours based on the position of the sun when she glanced out of the window during a rare pause in their conversation. The sun was beginning to set and Kahlan knew that the time that Dahlia would normally leave the shop for home was rapidly approaching. If she was going to broach the subject that had brought her to see Dahlia in the first place, she knew that she was going to have to do it soon.

"I've had a lovely time talking with you this afternoon," Dahlia started conversationally, drawing Kahlan's eyes from the window. "But I would have answered your question even if you'd just asked when you first walked in."

"What question?" Kahlan asked, arching a dark eyebrow at the woman sitting opposite her.

"The question that brought you here," Dahlia replied knowingly. "The question you've been trying to figure a way to ask since you walked through the door."

Kahlan stared at her for a moment, and then she smiled, shook her head and murmured, "There's a touch of Confessor in you."

Dahlia smiled at the compliment, but her eyes remained serious and curious as she looked at Kahlan, and Kahlan breathed in deeply before placing her elbows on the small table that separated her and Dahlia and leaning forward.

"I'm here about, Cara," Kahlan began.

Dahlia smiled.

"Of course you are," she said lightly. "Would you like to know what my intentions towards her are?"

"Something like that, yes," Kahlan admitted a little ruefully.

Dahlia nodded and a thoughtful expression came over her features as her eyes drifted past Kahlan to some spot on the wall behind the Confessor. Dahlia was still and silent for a few seconds and then her eyes fluttered shut and she breathed in deeply before angling her head back towards the Confessor.

"I don't have any," Dahlia responded with a sigh, deliberately holding Kahlan's eyes as she spoke. "Cara coming back into my life is something I've continued to dream of, but I'd lost hope of it ever happening years ago. When you showed up in town, I thought that I might have one night to try and come to know her again. That we've ended up with so many days together is more than I ever could have hoped for. So, my intentions – such as they are – are to make the most of the days we have left together, and then to try and not make a fool of myself when it is time to say goodbye. At least this time I'll get to say goodbye," Dahlia continued softly, the last few words she spoke coming out so quitely that Kahlan only caught part of it. "To …" Dahlia began before pausing as her eyelashes fluttered quickly and she breathed in deeply. "To have ... to have seen her, and for her to be doing so well, and doing such wonderful things, with such wonderful people is … a gift," Dahlia breathed out, still blinking rapidly. "It is a gift from the Creator, and I am thankful."

Kahlan breathed in deeply as Dahlia finished speaking. She had been unprepared for all that she had seen in Dahlia's eyes, and it had left her somewhat breathless. Everything Dahlia had just said was true, but it was the things she didn't say, it was deep longing in her eyes that revealed the most to Kahlan.

"You're in love with her," Kahlan said softly.

Dahlia exhaled roughly and turned a fascinating shade of red as she angled her face away from Kahlan.

"And apparently made of glass," Dahlia murmured into her hands which she was half hiding behind.

She was silent for a few moments and Kahlan did nothing to interrupt it, knowing that Dahlia needed the time to pull herself together and focus her thoughts.

"I've often dreamed of seeing Cara again, but the idea of it terrified me as much as I longed for it," Dahlia started quietly, looking up at Kahlan again though the tumult of emotions surging through her wouldn't allow her to hold the Confessor's eyes. "The older I got, the more scared I became because I understood more of what was being done to her and what she would become when it was over," Dahlia continued shivering.

"I dreamed of a Cara bathed in light and shadows, more damaged and more weary than the girl I had known, but still bold and brave and so beautiful, inside and out. I dreamed of it, Kahlan, but I couldn't let myself think of it when I was awake because … I didn't _believe_ it," Dahlia whispered as her eyes momentarily squeezed shut. "I didn't believe that any of her brightness could survive in a Mord'Sith temple, and the more years that passed the more I came to believe that she was truly lost forever. And then, a year ago, rumors started of a Mord'Sith name Carly or Cora or sometimes Cara traveling with the Seeker and a jolt went through me, but really what were the odds? It was silly to hope. But more stories, new stories started arriving and in the new ones the name used for the Mord'Sith was always Cara, always. And, sometimes at night, for just a few minutes, I let myself believe that it was her. But even so," Dahlia smiled wetly but happily, "I wasn't prepared for the reality of her. I couldn't have been. She's perfect … I mean, not 'perfect'," Dahlia said waving her hand as if swatting away the implication that anyone could be completely without fault, "but _perfect_ ," Dahlia sighed.

"Bathed in light and shadows," Kahlan breathed out, recalling Dahlia's words from before as best she could.

"Yes," Dahlia whispered, smiling at Kahlan. "Exactly, I … I couldn't help but ..." Dahlia paused and dropped her eyes to her lap, but the end of her sentence was written clearly in her eyes before she had looked down. Whether she said the words or not, Kahlan understood that Dahlia hadn't been able to help falling in love.

"I know you all have to leave," Dahlia sighed, looking up again. "I know she can't stay here with me. She's proud of the life she lives with you and the good things you've all accomplished – even if you could have done them more efficiently and with less talking," Dahlia continued, smiling at Kahlan as she parroted back some of Cara's commentary on their adventures. "I won't cause a scene," Dahlia said, becoming serious again. "I won't weep for her to stay," Dahlia went on, sighing softly before she smiled weakly and then murmured, "Although maybe I should since it'd chase her away faster than a group of small children presenting her with flowers and asking for hugs."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation they were having, Kahlan couldn't help the peel of laughter that escaped from her at the mental image Dahlia had painted.

When Kahlan laughter started to fade, she found herself watching Dahlia contemplatively, studying her face as she had watched Cara study it the night before when Cara and Dahlia had joined them at the tavern for drinks.

Kahlan watched Dahlia and her mind drifted back to what she had witnessed between Dahlia and Cara the night before.

They had all gathered at the tavern, but as the night wore on the place had became quite crowded and loud and Cara became restless prompting Richard to suggest that they go for a walk.

It was decided that some fresh air would do them all good, and Cara, Dahlia and Kahlan had headed to the door to wait outside for Richard and Zedd who said they were going to procur some provisions for the walk – which Kahlan knew meant a cask or two of hot wine.

On the way out of the tavern Kahlan had been stopped by a man seeking her advice, and she'd nodded her head to Cara, indicting that she and Dahlia should continue outside without her. However, it only took a minute for Kahlan to set up a meeting time with the man for the next morning, and sooner than she thought she was exiting the tavern in search of Cara and Dahlia.

She found them standing in the shadows of the small gap between the tavern and building next to it. She started towards them, but as she did she saw Dahlia lean forward and kiss Cara's cheek and Kahlan froze awkwardly where she was, not wishing to interrupt the intimate moment.

Backing away slightly and fading into some nearby shadows, Kahlan watched as Cara's head dipped down at the chaste touch of Dahlia's lips against her skin, and Kahlan was just able to make out Cara saying, "What was that for?" as blonde turned, almost bashfully, to look at Dahlia.

"For being you," Dahlia had replied sweetly, and though Kahlan couldn't see Cara's eyes from where she was, she could tell from the way the blonde's head moved that she had rolled her eyes.

Dahlia had laughed at that, and Cara angled her head to the side, pretending to ignore Dahlia. However, when Dahlia quieted down, Cara looked back over at her and then proceeded to stare at her until finally Dahlia placed her hand on her hip and said, "What?"

Kahlan wasn't sure what she expected to happen after that, but she certainly hadn't been prepared for Cara petulantly muttering, "I'm still me and you're not kissing me now."

Dahlia had responded to that by laughing again, and then she leaned forward indulgently and kissed Cara's cheek. When she pulled back Cara took up staring at her again until Dahlia crossed her arms and amusedly said, "Cara, I can't kiss you every moment of the day."

"You don't know that," Cara replied. "You haven't tried. Kahlan says a person can do anything they put their mind to," and while Kahlan was busy feeling touched that Cara actually did listen to her when she talked to her about such things, Dahlia smiled and kissed Cara again.

When Dahlia's lips left Cara's cheek, she looked at Cara curiously, and said, "If I'm kissing you every moment of the day, how are you going to make clever remarks?"

Cara had smiled one of her rare full smiles in response, drawing an equally dazzling smile from Dahlia, and then she had murmured, "Perhaps, every moment was overly ambitious. We should experiment until we find the perfect balance of kisses to witty observations. It's the only logical course of action."

That drew a giggle from Dahlia, and as Kahlan lifted her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing at Cara's heart-warmingly ridiculous response, Dahlia had leaned forward and captured Cara's lips in a kiss that was far from brief and in a different universe from chaste.

Knowing that she should not have stayed and watched them as long as she had, Kahlan had slipped back inside of the tavern as the two women continued to kiss.

Kahlan made no comment about what she had witnessed between Cara and Dahlia when she joined Zedd and Richard, and if she had been asked why she was so charmed by Cara during their stroll – even as her affectionate glances made Cara increasingly cranky – she had planned to blame it on the hot wine.

Despite the talk Kahlan had had with Richard over lunch, she had waited to talk to Dahlia because she didn't want to presume too much about Cara's feelings – which while no longer a complete mystery to Kahlan, were still hard for her to read.

However, what she had seen between them outside of the tavern had made Kahlan confident enough of Cara's feelings for Dahlia for to her finally approach Dahlia about joining them on the road, and, after a few very pleasant candle-marks of tea and conversation that was finally what Kahlan was going to do.

"Dahlia, there's something I'd like to talk to you about," Kahlan began, and Dahlia turned her big brown on eyes towards her and leaned forward, eager to hear what Kahlan had to say.

**To be continued ...**

_If you read and enjoyed, comments are always welcome and are very much appreciated :D_


	11. Chapter 11

**Two Days Later**

Kahlan sighed as she felt Cara's eyes on her again and Richard turned to look at her curiously before he followed Kahlan's gaze over to Cara.

"She's starting to make me feel self-conscious," Kahlan exhaled softly when Cara averted her accusatory eyes and went back to viciously pounding a peg into a hole.

"It's not you," Richard breathed out, watching Cara as she aggressively went to work.

Cara had been fine during the morning, but Kahlan turning up at the construction site in the early afternoon looking for some work to do after finally having dealt with the last of the problems the village had for her to mediate had set Cara on edge. They were nearing the end of the construction of the bridge, which was the last of the major building projects in Ragora, and Cara had, no doubt, correctly deduced from Kahlan's arrival and their own dwindling work load that it would soon be time for them to leave Ragora behind.

"There was some talk of digging a small well on the western edge of ..."

"That would be nothing more than a patch," Kahlan interjected sighing again. "We'll have to leave eventually, and we'll have to talk to her before we do."

Richard nodded; he knew that it was true. Extending their stay for a few more days would only delay the inevitable.

"IDIOT! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

Kahlan's eyes widened at the sound of Cara's raised voice and her eyes met Richard's for a moment before they both turned in the direction Cara's voice had come from. There was a large wet patch of earth on the ground in front of Cara and a bucket lying sideways in the dirt slowly leaking the last of the water that had been inside of it. From the way the puddle formed it was clear that the dropped bucket had caught Cara's left foot, and though the man who had been carrying it was a head taller than Cara and had more than fifty pounds on her, he looked terrified as Cara aggressively stepped towards him.

"It ... it was an accident. I'm sorry," the man stuttered as Cara's hand moved to the hilt of the agiel she kept strapped on right side, even as she labored.

"I don't care what it was..."

"Cara!" Richard called out sharply, quickly approaching Cara and the man, whose name Richard believed was Johan.

"He..." Cara began, angrily jabbing her finger in Johan's direction.

"He made a mistake and he apologized for it," Richard said, clapping his hand on Johan's shoulder in a friendly way to convey that he – and the others around them – were aware that dropping the bucket had not been intentional. "It's hot. We've all been working hard and are tired. It's not strange that tempers should flare, but fighting isn't going to help anything."

Richard bent down and picked up the empty bucket then handed it back to Johan.

"Let's break for a few minutes, get some water, get some shade, and then we can get back to work."

Johan nodded and met Richard's eyes gratefully before quickly heading back in the direction he had come from, but Cara held her ground and glared at Richard.

"Take a walk. Calm down. He didn't do anything wrong and you know it," Richard said meeting Cara's eyes steadily.

Cara's eyes cut away from Richard's for a moment, and it was clear that she knew that he was right and she had overreacted to the situation, but when her green eyes met his again they were still stormy and angry, and she stalked away from him crossly without saying another word.

Richard sighed and then moved to follow her, but Kahlan placed her hand on his shoulder halting his movement.

"Let me," she said softly.

"If you're not back by noon, I'm trading in this hammer for the Sword of Truth and coming after you," Richard joked.

Kahlan smiled at him and murmured, "I'll see you soon," then leaned over to kiss his cheek before she hurried off in the direction Cara had stalked off in.

xxx

"You walk quickly," Kahlan said as she approached Cara.

The Mord'Sith was sitting under the shade of an old tree on the outskirts of town staring moodily into the distance.

Cara didn't respond to her and Kahlan sighed softly before settling down on to the ground beside the blonde.

"You're going to miss her," Kahlan stated looking over at Cara.

"Who?" Cara asked still staring forward.

"You know perfectly well who I'm talking about," Kahlan replied, unwilling to humor Cara's bad mood. "You know she cares for you deeply," she continued a few seconds later.

She had used the word 'love' when she was talking with Dahlia, but given the emotional state Cara was currently in Kahlan wasn't sure how the blonde would've reacted to her using it.

Cara shrugged in response to Kahlan's words and continued to morosely stare out at the green fields that stretched before them.

"You care deeply for her too, don't you?" Kahlan went on, forging ahead.

She'd known before she sat down next to Cara that the blonde was not going to be a willing participant in this conversation. Luckily she'd had plenty of practice coaxing the blonde into conversation over their time traveling together.

Cara shrugged again.

"Do you ..."

"What's the point of asking me these things?" Cara exploded, suddenly turning to face Kahlan. "We're leaving. Why talk? What do feelings have to do with anything?"

"Everything," Kahlan breathed out softly, meeting Cara's hostile gaze with gentle and concerned eyes.

"You would say that," Cara complained turning away from Kahlan to stare off into the distance again, missing the small smile that touched Kahlan's lips in response to her words.

They sat in silence for a while as Kahlan considered how best to approach the subject of Cara's feelings again.

"Cara," Kahlan began gently.

Cara sighed deeply and irritably.

"Just answer me one thing," Kahlan continued unperturbed.

Cara made no response, even to grunt, but Kahlan pushed forward.

"Would you like for Dahlia to remain a part of your life?"

Cara remained still and silent as stone.

"Cara ..."

"Yes!" Cara interjected in a tone that was equal parts anger, frustration and helplessness.

She didn't understand why Kahlan wouldn't drop the subject. She didn't understand Kahlan's need to talk all the time. Talk, talk, and more talk, even though talking changed nothing. Yes, she would prefer for Dahlia to be part of her life. Clearly she enjoyed Dahlia's company, and despite all reason Dahlia seemed to enjoy hers. Yes, she would have liked for Dahlia to remain close to her, but their work in Ragora was done and they were going to leave. What she would like, what she would prefer, didn't matter. It never had.

Kahlan reached out and placed her hand on Cara's shoulder and Cara's body tensed beneath her hand, but to Kahlan's relief Cara didn't try to remove her hand.

"She could come with us," Kahlan said softly, still resting her hand lightly on Cara's shoulder for support.

Cara scoffed, but her voice revealed more sadness than derision when she replied, "Why would she do that? Her life is here. Why would she leave that?"

Kahlan's heart ached for Cara as she spoke and she drew her fingers down Cara's arm until her hand covered Cara's.

"There's very little people won't do to be with those they care about," Kahlan whispered as she squeezed Cara's hand.

Cara's face twisted into a mask of misery, and if she had been with anyone besides Cara, Kahlan would have immediately drawn them into a hug. As it was, she simply kept her hand on Cara's, warm and supportive.

"She wouldn't give up everything for me," Cara stated, voice flat and emotionless though her features conveyed the pain the words she had just spoken caused her.

"Cara," Kahlan began softly.

"I'm Mord'Sith," Cara interjected angrily before Kahlan could continue, and for the first time since Kahlan had met her, Cara did not sound boastful or proud of the statement.

"No, you're Cara Mason," Kahlan replied immediately, squeezing Cara's hand tightly. "The Mord'Sith are a part of who you are, but being Mord'Sith isn't all that you are. Dahlia knows that. She knew you before you were Mord'Sith and she's come to know you since them. She adored you when you were children and adores you now, just as you are."

Cara shook her head as if trying to dislodge Kahlan's words from her brain.

"She doesn't. I'm just a distraction to her," Cara declared a few moments later, once again staring off into the distance. "A ghost of what might have been if I'd never become what I am. She doesn't want me. She wants the woman the girl she knew would have grown into."

"Oh, Cara," Kahlan said staring at Cara's profile. "Cara," she repeated, reaching out with her free hand to touch Cara's jaw so that she could angle the blonde's face towards her. "That's not true."

Cara resisted her touch and Kahlan let her hand drop, allowing Cara to remain staring into the distance.

"Cara, she loves you. She loves the woman you are today."

Cara still did not turn to look at her.

"Dahlia wants to be with you, Cara. She's already agreed to travel with us to the People's Palace, if it's agreeable to you," Kahlan pressed on, and finally, Cara turned to look at her, her green eyes intense, suspicious and hopeful.

"She ... has?"

Kahlan nodded, and her lips curved up into a gentle smile.

"She has," she confirmed verbally.

Cara stared at her for a moment after that, and Kahlan could see the tumult of emotions she was experiencing, swirling in her eyes.

"She's a good woman," Kahlan said softly, squeezing Cara's shoulder.

Cara nodded distractedly.

"So are you," Kahlan breathed out a second later, her heart seizing in her chest when Cara turned to look at her incredulously. "You deserve to be happy," Kahlan said looking into Cara's eyes while she could.

"Do I?" Cara asked looking away from Kahlan.

"Everyone does," Kahlan responded, "even cantankerous Mord'Sith," she added playfully a second later before she leaned to the side to press her lips briefly to Cara's cheek.

Cara groaned when Kahlan's lips touched her face, but she held still and suffered through the Mother Confessor's affectionate touch.

"I told you not to do that," Cara complained when Kahlan pulled back, lifting her hand up to her cheek as if to protect herself from another attack from Kahlan's lips.

Kahlan laughed softly at that and then stood up.

"I won't do it again," Kahlan murmured, smiling as she looked down at Cara.

"Lies," Cara muttered making Kahlan laugh again before the Confessor sighed softly and turned her head to look back in the direction of town.

"I'm going to head back," Kahlan said a moment later, looking back down at Cara.

There was a strong instinct in her to stay and try to talk to Cara some more, but she knew that Cara had listened to what she had had to say, and that now she needed to give Cara time to think and process what she feeling.

Cara nodded absently and Kahlan turned to start back towards town, but before she had moved more than a few steps away she heard Cara say her name and turned back to face the blonde.

"This isn't real life," Cara said, her eyes focused on the town beyond them. "This isn't how things are for us. On the road things will be different."

"They will be," Kahlan acknowledged. "But you'll still be you, Dahlia will still be Dahlia, and the two of you will still care deeply for each other. I know this is new and strange for you, but I've never seen you happier. That's special, Cara. That's worth fighting for."

Kahlan paused for a moment after that, waiting to draw Cara's eyes over to her, and when her silence made Cara curious enough to look at her, Kahlan continued.

"Not once in the entire time that I've known you have you let fear stop you from doing something. Don't let it stop you now. "

Cara's eyes narrowed menacingly at Kahlan's implication that she was afraid, but Kahlan did not flinch or look away from her and finally Cara nodded, acknowledging that she had heard Kahlan's words, and then she looked away, staring off into the distance again.

Kahlan watched Cara thoughtfully for a moment and then turned and started back to town, desperately hoping for Cara's sake that she would take her words to heart.

 **To be continued ...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

**That Night**

The moon was high and bright in the night sky, and most of the candles and torches burning throughout town had been extinguished when someone started knocking on Dahlia's door. Dahlia had been lying in bed but she had not been asleep, so, less than a minute after the knocking started Dahlia found herself standing at her door with a blanket draped loosely over her shoulders as she stared into Cara Mason's exquisite green eyes.

"I didn't think I would see you tonight," Dahlia murmured as she stepped back to free up room for Cara to enter the cottage.

"I didn't think you would either," Cara muttered awkwardly as she stared at her boots.

"So, why are you here then?" Dahlia asked in a voice that was tender and genuinely curious despite the blunt construction of the question.

Cara heaved a mighty sigh and then looked up at Dahlia dejectedly.

"I missed you," Cara responded gloomily.

Dahlia stared at her silently for a moment, thinking that she really should have been insulted by Cara's tone, but as she looked at the blonde a smile started to stretch across her lips, and before she knew it she was smiling.

"I missed you too," Dahlia said a little breathlessly a few seconds later. "Come inside."

xxx

Dahlia wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself, despite the fact that it was relatively warm outside, and lowered herself into one of the chairs by her kitchen table as Cara paced back and forth across the room.

"I take it, Kahlan's finally talked to you," Dahlia stated, breaking the silence that had blanketed the room since they walked in.

Cara's pacing halted for a moment when she spoke, but after giving a terse nod the blonde recovered and began stalking back and forth again.

Dahlia breathed in and out shakily as she watched Cara pace relentlessly, but taking a deep breath did nothing to calm the pounding of her heart or the sick feeling that had been building inside of her since Cara followed her inside of the cottage.

Dahlia had been worrying about why Cara had not turned up that night – as she had every night since arriving in Ragora – and it had kept Dahlia awake and tense, but when she had opened her door to find Cara standing outside looking bashful and beautiful, the unease and tension that had been gnawing at Dahlia's stomach all night had lessened. Even if she was hours late, Cara had shown up and she had said that she missed her, and Dahlia had relaxed marginally, comforted by Cara's words and her presence. However, Cara's demeanor since entering the cottage had not been encouraging, and as Dahlia watched her continue to stalk around the kitchen like an animal that had been caged for too long, there was only one reason that Dahlia could think of for Cara's agitation.

"You ... you don't want me to go with you, do you?" Dahlia asked softly, blinking rapidly in an attempt to control the tears building in her eyes as she tugged the blanket around her more tightly, as if it could shield her from the heartbreak coming her way.

Cara came to a halt again as Dahlia's words reached her. Cara turned her head to face Dahlia and their eyes met for a moment, but she couldn't bear to see the look of devastation on Dahlia's face, and so Cara looked away from her again.

"No," Cara stated flatly, staring out of the kitchen into the darkness that she knew housed Dahlia's bedroom. "I don't."

Dahlia sucked in a deep breath at Cara's response, and squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the sting of the tears trapped behind them.

"I see," Dahlia managed to choke out.

Her voice waivered a little as she spoke, but she had managed to get the words past her lips and none of the tears in her eyes had escaped, so she considered the response a success. That didn't stop her from feeling like a fool, however. She had resigned herself to the fact that Cara would leave her the first night they were together, but despite the fact that Cara had promised her nothing, as the days wore on and they grew closer, Dahlia had started to hope. She had grown used to sharing meals with Cara, and falling asleep with the blonde spooned behind her. She had gotten used to entering her home and detecting the faint smell of leather.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that Cara would be leaving, but she had allowed herself to get comfortable with Cara. She had allowed herself to dream of what Cara would look like when she was older and imagined herself beside her, and after the talk she had with Kahlan, Dahlia had allowed herself to believe that her dream might just come true.

"You're crying."

Cara's strangled voice jolted Dahlia from her thoughts and she automatically lifted her hand up to her face, a soft sigh escaping from her lips a second later when she realized that the tears she had been trying to contain had finally escaped.

"It'll pass," Dahlia breathed out, using the blanket to dab at her damp cheeks. "Did you eat earlier? Are you hungry?" she continued a few seconds later, trying to buy herself some time to pull herself together and gather her thoughts.

She had told Kahlan that she would not weep and beg for Cara to stay, and even though her heart felt like it was being squeezed to mush and she was shaking like a leaf, she meant to keep her word.

"I'm sure I could find something to ..."

"I'm not hungry," Cara interjected as gently as she could though her voice seemed exceedingly loud in the silence of the small cottage.

Dahlia nodded but said nothing, and Cara sighed in frustration because things were not going the way she wanted them to and she didn't understand how to fix things so that they went right.

"You're smart," Cara declared awkwardly a few seconds later. "You're beautiful and charming and compassionate and you can do better than me. You _deserve_ better than me."

"Cara," Dahlia gasped, looking up at the blonde sharply.

"The first time I killed a man I was ten, and that man was my father," Cara continued before Dahlia could say more. "I've snatched little girls away in the night and locked them in cages. I've fucked on the floor like an animal while around me people hung from the ceiling in chains. Inflicting pain on others has given me pleasure and satisfaction. I've masturbated to the sound of screams with the scent of blood in the air. I've ruined people's lives," Cara declared, voice rising as she became carried away by her words, tortured by memories that had once been a source of immense pride to her. "I've _slaughtered_ innocent lives and destroyed families. I led the party that killed the last of the Confessor's, including Kahlan's sister and her infant son, and if my sisters hadn't turned on me and left me for dead I would have continued on exactly as I had been before, torturing, killing and destroying, without hesitation or regret. I don't understand love, and even if I did, I wouldn't be deserving of it."

The blanket Dahlia had been clutching since her arrival hung loosely over her shoulders as Dahlia stared at her with wide eyes and Cara turned to look towards the door, muscles automatically tensing for flight.

Her words were still registering with Dahlia, but soon she would comprehend them and then the tenderness and affection that Cara had become used to seeing in Dahlia's eyes would disappear forever.

The thought pained Cara, and if she was not the Mord'Sith that she was, she would have run to spare herself the agony of seeing Dahlia look at her with disgust. However, she _was_ the Mord'Sith that she was, and so, she stayed and waited for the agony to come.

"Hurt me."

Cara's head turned with violent speed in Dahlia's direction.

"What?"

"I said, 'hurt me'," Dahlia repeated before rising from her chair. "At this time of night no one would have seen you come here. My parent's house is the closest residence and they won't be back until tomorrow. There's no one here to stop you from doing what you want. I certainly couldn't. So, if you're so awful and it brings you so much pleasure ... hurt me," Dahlia repeated, opening her arms wide, offering herself to Cara.

"Stop being ridiculous," Cara declared irritably, staring at Dahlia for a moment before she reached out and pushed Dahlia's arms back to her sides. "I'm not going to hurt you. Be quiet."

"Why not?" Dahlia asked, not backing down. "It's what you do, isn't it? It's what you are. That's what you just told me. You're a monster. You hurt and kill people. You don't feel anything. You don't care about anything. The tears of children are an aphrodisiac to you," Dahlia declared, meeting Cara's eyes even as the increasing anger in them made a shiver of apprehension run through her. "If that's so, then use these hands," Dahlia said, reaching out to take one of Cara's hands into her own and then bringing it up to her lips to kiss. "If you don't love me, then use these fingers that have been inside of me to strike me. Use this mouth," Dahlia sighed, stroking her thumb over Cara's plump bottom lip, "that has kissed every inch of my body to bite and tear at my flesh until it is red as your leather. Take your agiels and use them to beat the breasts you wake up kissing."

"Dahlia," Cara said in a low, measured voice. "Stop this."

"Why place your neck in the hand of a Confessor and let her pass judgment you? Why continue on the quest for the Stone of Tears when a Seeker with no Rahl blood had been named? Why wear a frilly pink dress and speak in rhymes to save a woman whose touch is death to you?" Dahlia asked, recalling the stories Kahlan had shared with her over late afternoon tea and the tales Cara herself had boasted of as they lay together at night.

"You understand love, Cara," Dahlia breathed out, her voice soft but fierce as she looked into Cara's eyes. "When you were a child the Mord'Sith took you and hurt you in unimaginable way an attempt to destroy every drop of goodness inside of you, but they didn't. They couldn't. You're so strong. Too strong, even for them," Dahlia whispered, blinking against the tears forming in her eyes.

"You fought against what had been done to you, and you changed. You've saved lives. You've saved villages. Cara, you helped save the world! You've reunited families and saved mothers and fathers. You've made true friends, friends who would die for you and who you would die for. You've touched me with more tenderness and love than I dreamed was possible, and with such passion that I blush just to think on it," Dahlia breathed out, her cheeks flushing as she thought about the intimacies she and Cara had shared. "I know what these hands are capable of, both good and bad," Dahlia continued, stroking Cara's hand tenderly, "and I would kiss them forever," she whispered fiercely, drawing Cara's hands up to her face to press her lips against them. "I love you, Cara. I want you. I want to be with you."

Dahlia took Cara's face into her hands and held firm so that Cara could not look away from her.

"Do you want to be with me?" Dahlia whispered.

Cara closed her eyes as feelings bombarded her, overwhelming every inch of her until she worried that the attacking emotions might actually kill her.

She hadn't been prepared for this. She hadn't thought that Dahlia would want her after she had told her what she had done in the past. She had expected cold hatred not warm love. She had expected curses to be hurled at her, not declarations of love. Dahlia's words, the feel of her hands on Cara's skin, the look of love and longing in her eyes made Cara feel ... so much. She was being flooded with feelings and as her heart pounded madly and she struggled for breath, Cara feared that she would drown in them.

"Do you want to be with me?" Dahlia repeated as Cara breathed in and out rapidly. "Do you want to ...?"

"Yes," Cara rasped finally. "Yes," she sighed, feeling her rapidly beating heart begin to calm as she stared at Dahlia, watching as her perfect lips slowly curve up into a smile and her bright eyes danced with warmth and happiness. "I want to be with you," Cara whispered, feeling lighter and freer with every syllable that passed her lips. "I want you with me. I don't want you to go away," Cara breathed out, closing her eyes and tilting her face to the side into Dahlia's warm hand.

"I'm not going to go away," Dahlia promised, leaning forward to kiss Cara's lips before she kissed her cheeks, and then her nose and then her brow. "I'm always going be around … just like Ducky," Dahlia vowed, and to her surprise and delight, her words inspired Cara to release a bark of laughter before the blonde reached out for her and wrapped Dahlia up tightly in her arms, hugging her with a force that literally took Dahlia's breath away.

"I'd forgotten about Ducky," Cara whispered into Dahlia's neck a few moments later, loosening her hold on Dahlia though she did not release her.

When they were smallish, possibly five or six, a duckling had followed Cara home from the pond one afternoon. Her father had caught the duckling and returned it to the water, but the next day it had appeared again, meeting Cara outside of the schoolroom. Once again it was returned to the pond, but no matter how many times the duckling was led back to water it kept showing up again, following Cara around like a cuddly shadow until finally everyone just let the duckling follow Cara around if that's what it wanted to do. Cara had then decided it was her pet, and despite her wonderful child's imagination, she had decided to name the duckling Ducky, and she and Dahlia had spent many hours playing with Ducky and looking out for him until the afternoon the Mord'Sith came to town and snatched Cara away.

"I don't know how to do this," Cara said softly as she drew her head away from Dahlia's neck so that she could see her face. "I've never had a ... relationship?" Cara continued, her voice rising uncertainly as she said 'relationship,' the concept so foreign to her that she wasn't sure she was even using the right word. "What if I'm no good at it?"

"Nobody's any good at it ... until they are," Dahlia said softly, stroking Cara's cheek tenderly before she leaned forward and pressed her lips against the smooth, warm flesh.

The truth was that she was no relationship expert either. She'd had nothing but fumblings and relatively chaste dalliances with girls, and a few sweet beginnings with land-owners sons that had soon turned sour when Dahlia realized they wanted a maid servant who would share their bed instead of an equal and partner with whom to share their lives.

In her late teens she'd given her body to the blacksmith's son whom she'd loved with the parts of her heart that hadn't been snatched away with Cara, but he'd joined the Dragon Corp and gone off to war shortly afterwards and he'd never come back, so the longest commitment Dahlia had ever made remained to dodging marriage.

"I suspect that being madly in love would be helpful though," Dahlia whispered, holding Cara's eyes intimately before she tugged Cara into a kiss.

Cara's body started to relax as Dahlia kissed her, the stress caused by talking about the unfamiliar quickly being replaced with the comfortable burn of arousal as Dahlia's tongue began to lick at her lips.

Cara reached out with one hand and grasped Dahlia's hips possessively while the other moved to Dahlia's face, cupping it as Cara took possession of the kiss and deepened it, stroking Dahlia's tongue with her own until Dahlia was moaning into her mouth.

"Regular sex would help too," Cara whispered against Dahlia's lips as her own curved up into a smirk while her hands began to roam.

"Regu ... you can't possibly be implying that we should do it more," Dahlia said, tilting her head back to give Cara's lips access to her neck. "I almost can't remember what my flower looks like without your face covering it," Dahlia breathed out, smiling widely a few seconds later when she felt the vibrations of Cara's laughter as blonde pressed her face against her neck.

"Is that a complaint?" Cara asked before nipping at Dahlia's neck playful.

"Absolutely not," Dahlia sighed. "It's an absolutely breathtaking view."

Cara smiled against Dahlia's neck and then drew her head back so that she could kiss Dahlia softly on the lips.

"We should take advantage of the bed while it's here," Cara said, and then she scooped Dahlia up into her arms, a rush of contentment flowing over her a second later when she felt Dahlia's legs wrap securely around her waist. "You're going to miss such comforts when we're on the road."

"I'll be okay," Dahlia stated confidently, stroking Cara's cheek reverently with her finger as Cara began to walk them into the bedroom. "I'll just lie on top of you," she declared smiling.

"I might not mind that," Cara said before the tip of a pink tongue peaked out from between her lips to wet them.

"We both know that you won't," Dahlia responded boldly, though a blush still spread across her cheeks.

"That's very true," Cara admitted.

She held Dahlia still in her arms for a moment longer so that she could kiss her, and then she leaned down and opened her arms, allowing Dahlia to tumble gently onto the bed. "But I think I'll be on top tonight."

Dahlia rolled her eyes at that but laughed softly. As if Cara was ever anywhere else.

"I'll allow it this one time," Dahlia whispered playfully, smiling up at Cara for a few seconds before her eyes squeezed shut and she bit down on her bottom lip when Cara's hand found its way between her legs.

Cara's lips twitched up into a smile, and when Dahlia's eyes fluttered open again, Cara leaned down and brought their lips together kissing her with all of the passion and love that she could not express in words.

Dahlia would have to make sacrifices to join them on the road, but Cara planned on showing her – all night if necessary – that there would be rewards as well as sacrifice. She still wasn't convinced that she deserved Dahlia or the happiness that being with Dahlia made her feel, but Cara was not someone to repeatedly ignore opportunity when it presented itself. Kahlan was right, the way she felt about Dahlia was new and strange for her, and it did ... unsettle her, but Cara was not a woman to back away from a challenge. If Dahlia wanted to be with her – even after all Cara had revealed to her that night – then they _would_ be together.

For even if Cara felt that she didn't deserve love, there was no question that Dahlia did and Dahlia loved her, so Cara would give Dahlia what she deserved and love her with all that she had and all that she was.

Cara couldn't change her past, but she could determine her future. She couldn't be Dahlia's first and only, but she could and _would_ be Dahlia's best and her last.

xxx

**Part 12.5**

**(Epilogue)**

 **Three Days Later**

"Why is this bag so heavy?" Cara groused as she lifted the saddle bag that had been purchased the day before for Dahlia and began to secure it to her horses saddle. "Did you pack the bed?"

"Uh huh," Dahlia deadpanned, smiling sweetly. "I also put the kitchen table in there and every book that I own. Do you think I should have packed the pots as well?"

Cara turned to look at Dahlia with narrowed eyes and Dahlia closed the distance between them and kissed Cara on the cheek softly making Cara's lips helplessly curve up in a happy smile. Cara shook her head a second later, and then muttered something under her breath, but whatever she said only made Dahlia laugh and with a huff Cara turned back to preparing the horse.

"She made a face when I kissed her cheek," Kahlan commented glumly from the doorway of the stable where she and Richard were resting.

Richard chuckled.

"The thought of even trying to kiss her cheek is enough to give me nightmares. The fact that you managed to touch her with your lips without getting an agiel in the ribs is pretty impressive in its own right."

Kahlan smiled and then laughed softly at that, and Richard gathered her up in his arms and their attention went back to Cara and Dahlia.

"She does have a way with Cara," Richard observed, smiling gently as Cara and Dahlia stood side by side as Dahlia stroked the horses neck and inquired if it had a name which made Cara turn her head and stare at her incredulously.

"You named him Horsey, didn't you?" Dahlia asked knowingly as she grinned at Cara, and once again Cara responded to the gentle teasing by smiling briefly before schooled her expression into a frown and muttered, "No," morosely which made Dahlia laugh.

"She does," Kahlan agreed happily, smiling as she watched the two women.

"I told you so," Zedd boasted as he walked up to Richard and Kahlan, chomping on an apple.

"That was for the horse, old man!" Cara yelled at Zedd a moment later.

"You should have posted a sign," Zedd yelled back, shooting Cara a sickeningly sweet smile that had Cara taking a threatening step towards him before Dahlia placed a restraining hand on her arm and leaned in to whisper something to Cara that got her to settle down and turn her attention back to the horse.

Zedd smiled triumphantly and took a large, satisfying bite from the apple as Richard and Kahlan shook their heads at him.

"What?" Zedd asked with a touch of petulance before pointedly taking another bite from the apple.

"The moment Dahlia is distracted you're going to get an elbow in your soft tissues," Kahlan said laughing. "You are aware of this, right?"

"Cara's been sweetly 'nudging' me into wakefulness with her boot for months. Her elbow will be a welcome change of pace," Zedd grumbled before finished the apple off and tossing the core over his shoulder in Cara's general direction.

A few seconds later it was flung back at him, but it simply bounced harmlessly off of a shield Zedd had cast around himself and Zedd brushed his hands together and smiled victoriously as Cara glared at his back.

"Can we go now?" Cara called out peevishly.

Kahlan rolled her eyes at that, but smiled with affection as she moved over to the post where her horse was already tethered.

She, Richard and Zedd had been packed and ready to go for over a candle mark. Dahlia had gone to her parents to say goodbye in the morning and it had taken longer than Cara had anticipated making them late arriving at the stable. 'The woman just kept crying, crying and hugging and then more crying. Dahlia's clothes were damp when we finally escaped,' Cara had told Kahlan with a look of abject misery on her face when she had finally made it to the stable. Kahlan had nodded sympathetically and squeezed Cara's shoulder in response to Cara's tale of woe, but she'd had to bite down on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

Cara mounted her horse as Richard, Kahlan and Zedd reached theirs and began to untie them from the post, and as her companions mounted their steeds, Cara held out her hand to Dahlia and helped hoist the brunette onto the saddle in front of her. They had discovered during the rides they sometimes took in the evening that it was more comfortable for Dahlia to ride that way, and that it gave her a better view. Since it also allowed Cara to bury her nose in Dahlia hair, and kiss her skin as they rode, Cara was more than willing to comply with Dahlia's preference.

"Let's head out," Richard called out a few seconds after Dahlia had fixed herself comfortably in the saddle.

"Are you going to miss this place?" Cara asked when Dahlia craned her head back to watch as Ragora slowly faded from view.

"Yes," Dahlia sighed wistfully. The village had been very good to her and her family and she had many pleasant memories of the years she and her family had spent there. "But I would've missed you more," she continued, placing her hand over Cara's, squeezing it tightly.

Cara kissed Dahlia's cheek and then nuzzled her face into Dahlia's neck in response and Dahlia smiled, leaned back against her contentedly and looked forward.

"I'm glad you're here," Cara said softly a few seconds later, her voice so faint that her words were almost lost in the wind.

"So am I," Dahlia breathed out, lifting Cara's gloved hand up to her lips to kiss it softly.

Cara made a complaining sound in her throat at the sentimental display, but she pressed her lips to Dahlia's cheek again, and when she kicked her heels against the horse to pick up their pace she found that she was smiling and couldn't quite seem to stop.

 **The End**


End file.
